Particles and Waves Flashcards
Fundamental particles
These are particles that can’t be broken down any further
Gluon
Strong nuclear force
Photon
Electromagnetic force
W + Z Bosons
Weak nuclear force
Fermions
12 matter particles, quarks and leptons
Quarks: Baryons
3 quark combo
Quarks: Mesons
2 quark combo
Leptons
Electrons, stable
Anti matter
Anti matter particles have same mass but opposite charge
Positron
Anti electron
Particle accelerators
Used to accelerate particles by using magnetic forces to guide particles
Electron volts
1 electron volt is the energy gained by an electron accelerated by a potential difference of 1 volt
Mass number (top)
Number or protons and neutrons in a nucleus
Atomic number (bottom)
Number of protons in a nucleus
Nuclear Decay
Unstable nuclei decay by emitting alpha beta and gamma
Nuclear fission
When a large nucleus splits into 2 smaller nuclei, electrons released
Nuclear fusion
When 2 smaller nuclei combined me to produce a bigger nucleus
Photon
A light particle
Brighter lines
Some lines are brighter than other because there are more electron transitions per second
Absorption spectra
Continuous spectrum with lines removed
Electrons in gas atoms absorb photons to move to higher energy levels
Only photon with energies equal to energy gaps between levels in atom will be absorbed
Photons removed from a white light source during absorption leave dark lines and produce absorption spectra
Photoelectric
If a photon energy is big enough it can escape from the atom, it must reach ionisation stage
Photo emission
Term used to describe emission of an electron from a material when it absorbs the energy of a photon
Threshold frequency
Minimum frequency that will cause photo emission
Work function
Minimum energy that a photon must have to produce photo emission
