Vocab Flashcards
Absorption
The disappearance of a wave into a medium. When a wave is absorbed, the energy transferred by the wave is converted into another form of energy, usually thermal.
Amplitude
The height of a wave.
Crest
The highest point of a wave.
Diffraction
The spreading out of waves as they pass through the opening or around the edges of an obstacle.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
The range of all electromagnetic frequencies, including radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultra violet light, x-rays, and gamma rays.
Electromagnetic Wave
A type of wave that travels without a medium.
Frequency
The number of wavelengths that pass a fixed point in a given amount of time.
Gamma Rays
Part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with the highest frequency.
Interference
The meeting and combining of waves.
Infrared Light
Part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with frequencies between those of microwaves and visible light.
Longitudinal Wave
A type of wave in which the disturbance moves the same direction the wave travels.
Mechanical Wave
A wave that transfers kinetic energy through matter.
Medium
A substance through which a wave moves.
Microwaves
Part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with higher frequencies than radio waves, but lower frequencies than infrared waves.
Polarization
A way of filtering light so that all waves vibrate in the same direction.
Primary Colors
Three colors of light that can be mixed to produce all possible colors. Red, Green, Blue
Primary Pigment
Three colors of substances that can be mixed to produce all possible colors. Cyan, Yellow, Magenta
Prism
An optical tool that uses refraction to separate the different wavelengths that make up white light.
Radiation
Energy that travels across distances in the form of electromagnetic waves.
Radio Waves
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with the lowest frequencies.
Reflection
The bouncing back of a wave after it strikes a barrier.
Refraction
The bending of a wave as it crosses the boundary between two mediums at an angle other than 90 degrees.
Scattering
The spreading out of light rays in all directions as particles reflect and absorb the light.
Transmission
The passage of a wave through a medium.
Transverse Waves
A type of wave in which the disturbance moves perpendicular to the direction the wave is going.
Trough
The lowest point of a wave.
Ultraviolet Light
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with frequencies higher than those of visible light and lower than those of x-rays.
Wave
A disturbance that carries energy from one place to another without having any matter.
Wavelength
The distance between two waves.
X-rays
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with high frequencies and energies.
