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Physics Flashcards

1
Q

What is a medium

A

any physical substance through which energy can be transferred

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2
Q

What is radiation?

A

A method of energy transfer that does not require a medium; the energy travels at the speed of light

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3
Q

What is electromagnetic waves?

A

A wave that has high electric and magnetic parts, does not require a medium, and travels at the speed of light

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4
Q

What is visible light?

A

Electromagnetic waves that the human eye can detect

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5
Q

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

A

The classification of electromagnetic waves by energy

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6
Q

What is visible spectrum?

A

The continuous sequence of colours that make up white light

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7
Q

What does luminous mean?

A

Produces its own light

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8
Q

What does non luminous mean?

A

Does not produce it’s own light

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9
Q

What is incandescence?

A

The production of light as a result of high temperatures

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10
Q

What is electric discharge

A

The process of producing light by passing an electric current through a gas

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11
Q

What is phosphorescence?

A

The process of producing light by the absorption of Ulithi violet light over an extended period of time

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12
Q

What is fluorescence?

A

The immediate emissions of visible light as a result of the absorption of ultraviolet light

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13
Q

What is chemiluminescence?

A

The direct production of light as the result of a chemical reaction which little or no heat produced

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14
Q

What is bioluminescence?

A

The production of light in living organisms as the result of a chemical reaction with little or no heat produced

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15
Q

What is triboluminescence?

A

The production is light from friction as a result of scratching crushing or rubbing certain crystals

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16
Q

What is a light-emitting diode (LED)?

A

Light produced as a result of an electric current flowing in semi conductors

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17
Q

What is a semiconductor?

A

A material that allows an electric current to flow in only one direction

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18
Q

What is a light ray?

A

A line on a diagram representing the direction and path that light is travelling

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19
Q

What are geometric optics?

A

The use of light rays to determine how light behaves when it strikes an object

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20
Q

What is an incident light?

A

Light emitted from a source that strikes an object

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21
Q

What is transparent?

A

When a material transmits all or almost all incident light; objects can be clearly seen through the material

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22
Q

What is translucent?

A

When a material transmits some incident light but absorbs or reflects the rest; objects are not clearly seen through the material

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23
Q

What is opaque?

A

When a material does not transmit any incident light; all incident light is either absorbed or reflected; objects behind the material can not be seen at all

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24
Q

What does image mean?

A

Reproduction of an object through the use of light

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25
Q

What is a mirror?

A

Any polished surface reflecting an image

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26
Q

What is a reflection?

A

The bouncing back of light from a surface

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27
Q

What is a plane mean?

A

Flat

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28
Q

What is an incident ray?

A

The incoming ray that bounces off a reflective surface

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29
Q

What is a normal?

A

The perpendicular line to a mirror surface

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30
Q

What does perpendicular mean?

A

At right angles

31
Q

What is an angle of incidence?

A

The angle between the incidence ray and the normal

32
Q

What is the angle of reflection?

A

The angle between the reflected ray and the normal

33
Q

What is specular reflection?

A

Reflection of light off a smooth surface

34
Q

What is a virtual image?

A

An image formed by light coming from an apparent light source; light is not arriving at or coming from the actual image location

35
Q

What is lateral inversion?

A

The orientation of an image in a plane mirror that is backwards and in reverse order

36
Q

What is a concave (converging) mirror?

A

A mirror shaped like part of the surface of a sphere In which the inner surface is reflective

37
Q

What is a convex (diverging) mirror?

A

A mirror shaped like part of the surface of a sphere in which the outer surface is reflective

38
Q

What is the centre of curvature?

A

The centre of the sphere whose surface has been used to make the mirror

39
Q

What is a principal axis?

A

The line through the centre of curvature to the midpoint of the mirror

40
Q

What is the vertex?

A

The point where the principal axis meets the mirror

41
Q

What does it mean to converge?

A

To meet at a common point

42
Q

What is the focus?

A

The point at which light rays parallel to the principal axis converge when they are reflected off a concave mirror

43
Q

What is a real image?

A

An image that can be seen on a screen as a result of light rays actually arriving at the image location

44
Q

What does diverge mean?

A

To spread apart

45
Q

What is refraction?

A

The bending or change in direction of light when it travels from one medium to another

46
Q

What is an angle of refraction?

A

The angle between the refracted ray and the normal

47
Q

What is the index of refraction?

A

The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum and the speed of light in a medium, n=c/v; this value is also equal to the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence in a vacuum to the sine of the refracted ray in a medium, n=sin<i></i>

48
Q

What is a critical angle?

A

The angle of incidence that results in an angle of refraction of 90 degrees

49
Q

What is the total internal reflection?

A

The situation when the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle

50
Q

What is a retro-reflector?

A

An optical device in which the emergent ray is parellel to the incident ray

51
Q

What is apparent depth?

A

The depth that an object appears to be at due to the refraction of light in a transparent medium

52
Q

What is a mirage?

A

A virtual image that forms as a result of refraction and total internal reflection in earths atmosphere

53
Q

What is dispersion?

A

The separation of white light into its constituent colours

54
Q

What is a converging lens?

A

A lens that is thickest in the middle and that causes incident parallel light rays to converge through a single point after refraction

55
Q

What is a diverging lens?

A

A lens that is thinnest in the middle and that causes incident parallel light rays to spread apart after refraction

56
Q

What is the optical centre?

A

The point at the exact centre of the lens

57
Q

What is the principal focus

A

The point on the principal axis of a lens where light rays parallel to the principal axis converge after refraction

58
Q

What is an emergent ray?

A

The light ray that leaves a lens after refraction

59
Q

What is the thin lens equation?

A

1/f = 1/do + 1/di

60
Q

What is the magnification equation?

A

M = hi/ho + di/do

61
Q

What is accommodation?

A

The changing of shape of the eye lens by eye muscles to allow a sharply focused image to form on the retina

62
Q

What is hyperopia?

A

The inability of the eye to focus light from near objects; farsightedness

63
Q

What is positive meniscus?

A

A modified form of the converging lens shape

64
Q

What is presbyopia?

A

A form of farsightedness caused by a loss of accommodation as a person ages

65
Q

What is myopia?

A

The inability of the eye to focus light from distant objects; nearsightedness

66
Q

What is a negative meniscus?

A

a modified form of the diverging lens shape

67
Q

What speed does light travel in a vacuum?

A

3.00 x 10^8 m/s

68
Q

What speed does light travel in water?

A

2.26 x 10^8 m/s

69
Q

What speed does light travel in acrylic?

A

1.76 x 10^8 m/s

70
Q

Light bends ______ the normal when the speed of light in the second medium is less than the speed of light in the first medium.

A

Toward

71
Q

Light bends ______ from the normal when the speed of light in the second medium is greater

A

Away

72
Q

What is snells law?

A

N= sinOi/sinOr

73
Q

What is the critical angle of a diamond?

A

24 degrees

74
Q

What are the 5 phenomenas related to refraction?

A

Apparent depth, flattened sun, mirage, shimmering and the rainbow.

Science (4 decks)

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