→ Physics Glossary A-D → Start Learning / Download MP3 Flashcards

Question		Answer
Absolute zero start learning		The lowest theoretical temperature a material can have, where the molecules that make up the material have no kinetic energy. Absolute zero is reached at 0 K or –273º C.
Acceleration start learning		A vector quantity defined as the rate of change of the velocity vector with time.
Activity start learning		In radioactive substances, the number of nuclei that decay per second. Activity, A, will be larger in large samples of radioactive material, since there will be more nuclei.
Alpha decay start learning		A form of radioactive decay where a heavy element emits an alpha particle and some energy, thus transforming into a lighter, more stable, element.
Alpha particle start learning		A particle, which consists of two protons and two neutrons. It is identical to the nucleus of a helium atom and is ejected by heavy particles undergoing alpha decay.
Angle of incidence start learning		When a light ray strikes a surface, the angle of incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the normal.
Angle of reflection start learning		The angle between a reflected ray and the normal.
Angle of refraction start learning		The angle between a refracted ray and the line normal to the surface.
Angular acceleration start learning		A vector quantity, equal to the rate of change of the angular velocity vector with time. It is typically given in units of rad/s2.
Angular displacement start learning		The net change, in a point’s angular position,. It is a scalar quantity.
Angular frequency start learning		A frequency, f, defined as the number of revolutions a rigid body makes in a given time interval. It is a scalar quantity commonly denoted in units of Hertz (Hz) or s–1.
Angular momentum start learning		moment pedu
Angular period start learning		The time, T, required for a rigid body to complete one revolution.
Angular position start learning		The position, of an object according to a co-ordinate system measured in s of the angle of the object from a certain origin axis. Conventionally, this origin axis is the positive x-axis.
Angular velocity start learning		predkosc katowa
Antinode start learning		The points midway between nodes on a standing wave, where the oscillations are largest.
Atom start learning		The building blocks of all matter, atoms are made up of a nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons, and a number of electrons that orbit the nucleus. An electrically neutral atom has as many protons as it has electrons.
Atomic number start learning		A number, Z, associated with the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Every element can be defined in s of its atomic number, since every atom of a given element has the same number of protons.
Axis of rotation start learning		The line that every particle in the rotating rigid body circles about.
Basis vector start learning		A vector of magnitude 1 along one of the coordinate axes. Generally, we take the basis vectors to be and, the vectors of length 1 along the x- and y-axes, respectively.
Beats start learning		uderzenia
Beta decay start learning		A form of radioactive decay where a heavy element ejects a beta particle and a neutrino, becoming a lighter element in the process.
Beta particle start learning		A particle, identical to an electron. Beta particles are ejected from an atom in the process of beta decay.
Bohr atomic model start learning		model Bohra
Boiling point start learning		The temperature at which a material will change phase from liquid to gas or gas to liquid.
Boyle’s Law start learning		For a gas held at a constant temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional.
Calorie start learning		The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. 1 cal = 4.19 J.
Celsius start learning		A scale for measuring temperature, defined such that water freezes at 0ºC and boils at 100ºC. 0ºC = 273 K.
Center of curvature start learning		With spherical mirrors, the center of the sphere of which the mirror is a part. All of the normals pass through it.
Center of mass start learning		środek masy
Centripetal acceleration start learning		The acceleration of a body experiencing uniform circular motion. This acceleration is always directed toward the center of the circle.
Centripetal force start learning		The force necessary to maintain a body in uniform circular motion. This force is always directed radially toward the center of the circle.
Chain reaction start learning		The particles and energy released by the fission or fusion of one atom may trigger the fission or fusion of further atoms. In a chain reaction, fission or fusion is rapidly transferred to a large number of atoms, releasing tremendous amounts of energy.
Charles’s Law start learning		For a gas held at constant pressure, temperature and volume are directly proportional.
Coefficient of kinetic friction start learning		The coefficient of kinetic friction, for two materials is the constant of proportionality between the normal force and the force of kinetic friction. It is always a number between zero and one.
Coefficient of linear expansion start learning		A coefficient that tells how much a material will expand or contract lengthwise when it is heated or cooled.
Coefficient of static friction start learning		The coefficient of static friction, for two materials is the constant of proportionality between the normal force and the maximum force of static friction. It is always a number between zero and one.
Coefficient of volume expansion start learning		A coefficient that tells how much the volume of a solid will change when it is heated or cooled.
Coherent light start learning		Light such that all of the associated waves have the same wavelength and are in phase.
Collision start learning		zderzenie
Completely inelastic collision start learning		A collision in which the colliding particles stick together.
Component start learning		skladowa
Compression start learning		kompresja, sprezenie
Concave lens start learning		Also called a diverging lens, a lens that is thinner in the middle than at the edges. Concave lenses refract light away from a focal point.
Concave mirror start learning		A mirror that is curved such that its center is farther from the viewer than the edges, such as the front of a spoon. Concave mirrors reflect light through a focal point.
Conduction start learning		Heat transfer by molecular collisions.
Conservation of Angular Momentum start learning		If the net torque acting on a rigid body is zero, then the angular momentum of the body is constant or conserved.
Conservation of momentum start learning		The principle stating that for any isolated system, linear momentum is constant with time.
Constant of proportionality start learning		A constant in the numerator of a formula.
Constructive interference start learning		The amplification of one wave by another, identical wave of the same sign. Two constructively interfering waves are said to be “in phase.”
Convection start learning		Heat transfer via the mass movement of molecules.
Convex lens start learning		Also called a converging lens, a lens that is thicker in the middle than at the edges. Convex lenses refract light through a focal point.
Convex mirror start learning		A mirror that is curved such that its center is closer to the viewer than the edges, such as a doorknob. Convex mirrors reflect light away from a focal point.
Cosine start learning		The cosine of an angle in a right triangle is equal to the length of the side adjacent to the angle divided by the length of the hypotenuse.
Crest start learning		The points of maximum displacement along a wave. In traveling waves, the crests move in the direction of propagation of the wave. The crests of standing waves, also called anti-nodes, remain in one place.
Critical angle start learning		For two given media, the smallest angle of incidence at which total internal reflection occurs.
Cross product start learning		iloczyn wektorowy
Cycle start learning		cykl
De Broglie wavelength start learning		A wavelength, given by = h/mv, which is associated with matter. Louis de Broglie proposed the idea that matter could be treated as waves in 1923 and applied this theory successfully to small particles like electrons.
Decay constant start learning		A constant, not to be confused with wavelength, that defines the speed at which a radioactive element undergoes decay. The greater is, the faster the element decays.
Decibel start learning		A logorithmic unit for measuring the volume of sound, which is the square of the amplitude of sound waves.
Deposition start learning		The process by which a gas turns directly into a solid because it cannot exist as a liquid at certain pressures.
Destructive interference start learning		The cancellation of one wave by another wave that is exactly out of phase with the first. Despite the dramatic name of this phenomenon, nothing is “destroyed” by this interference—the two waves emerge intact once they have passed each other.
Diffraction start learning		The bending of light at the corners of objects or as it passes through narrow slits or apertures.
Diffraction grating start learning		A sheet, film, or screen with a pattern of equally spaced slits. Typically the width of the slits and space between them is chosen to generate a particular diffraction pattern.
Direction start learning		kierunek
Directly proportional start learning		wprost proporcjonalnie
Dispersion start learning		The separation of different color light via refraction.
Displacement start learning		przesunięcie (wektor)
Distance start learning		odleglosc (skalar)
Doppler shift start learning		przesuniecie dopplerowskie
Dot product start learning		A form of vector multiplication, where two vectors are multiplied to produce a scalar. The dot product of two vectors, A and B, is expressed by the equation A · B = AB cos.
Dynamics start learning		The application of kinematics to understand why objects move the way they do. More precisely, dynamics is the study of how forces cause motion.

Physics glossary A-D

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