physics final Flashcards
Coulomb’s Law
describes the force between 2 electric charges
voltage
the work done per unit charge in moving a charge through an electric field
dielectric
an insulator placed between the 2 plates of a parallel plate capacitor
resistance
resistance of a conductor with unit length and unit cross-section
inductor
a device made to store a significant amount of magnetic energy
internal resistance
resistance of the substances inside a cell
right hand rule with wire
a method of determining the direction of the B-field around a current carrying wire
right hand rule for moving charges
arrange thumb and 1st 2 fingers perpendicular to each other
magnetic flux
the intensity of a magnetic field penetrating a certain area
Faraday’s law
the emf induced in a loop of wire is proportional to the rate of change of mag flux through the coil
induction
the process of making emf in a conductor by relative motion between it and a B-field
back emf
a Lenz’ law-type secondary emf produced in generator windings which opposes the original B-field
transformer
devices that alter the voltage and current of E-energy
step up transformer
a transformer designed to increase output voltage
step down transformer
a transformer designed to decrease output voltage
EM radiation
waves of E and B fields energy produced by oscillating charges
RC circuits
a series circuit containing capacitor and resistance
RL circuits
a series circuit containing an inductor and resistance
time constant
time required for function to change to 1/e of its asymptote value
rms current and voltage
root mean square
capacitive reactance
tendency of a capacitor to obstruct AC
inductive reactance
tendency of inductor to obstruct AC
impedence
the tendancy of an RLC circuit to obstruct AC
Total internal reflection
the reflection of all incident rays, in a dense medium, back into the medium
critical angel
angle of incidence causing a 90 degree angel of refraction for a ray passing out of a high-density medium into one of lower density
focal point
the point in space at which a converging lens focuses light rays
thin lens
a lens whose thickness is small in comparison to its focal length
aperture
an opening, as in a camera
Fresnel lenses
lenses with concentric rings having the surface contour of the equivalent ring of a thick lens
laser
light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
Wien’s law
predicts the peak wavelength emitted by an incandescent source based on its absolute temp
huygen’s principle
wave energy travels in waves of constant wavelength
Raleigh criterion
defines the ability of optical equipment to resolve distinct objects in terms of the light wavelength and diameter of objective lens/mirror
resolution
the ability of of an optical instrument to distinguish different objects
acoustic intensity
the acoustic power passing through a unit area
decibel level
a logarithmic ratio of acoustic intensity and reference intensity
Faraday’s constant
1 mole of electrons is 96,485 C/mol
subatomic particle
a particle making up the atom
becquerel
1 disintegration per sec
nucleon
particle in the nucleus which is stable
binding energy
force in the nucleus holding nucleons together
nuclide
any isotope of any element
Planck’s postulate
energy interacts with atoms in certain quantized amounts
balmer series
visible spectral lines produced by the balmer equation
deBroglie waves
waves associated with matter according to the principle of duality
uncertainty principle
the belief that it is impossible to completely describe all properties of a particle
quantum number
a number specifying the energy of an electron in location about nucleus
grain boundary
a discontinuity between individual grains in a polycrystalline structure
microchip
an integrated circuit containing many microscopic pnjuction diodes and their components
Galilean relativity
no mechanical experiment can prove any IRF to be an absolute reference frame
Einsteinian relativity
no experiment at all can detect an ARF
electrodynamic phenomenon
phenomena acting on change in motion because of their charge
inertial mass
the true mass of a moving charge, after electrodynamic correction, constant with speed
rest mass
same value as inertial mass, but in RT assumed to grow as speed increases
Galilean velocity addition
computing the velocity of a moving object by adding to its velocity the velocity if its source
Lorentz-fitzgerald correction factor
usual name given to the quantity by1-(v2/cl)
special relativity
RT based on Einstein’s postulates, which leads to time dilation, mass increase, and length contraction for macroscopic neutral objects
general relativity
developed to explain gravity, assumes space is curved and time is a 4th dimension
