Particle Theory, Heat Transfer, Waves, Electricity, and Energy Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core physics concepts from the transcript including particle theory, heat transfer, waves, sound, light, static and current electricity, circuits, Ohm's law, energy forms, and Sankey diagrams.

Heat / Thermal Energy

The energy within an object or environment due to the movement of its particles.

Heat Transfer

The movement of heat energy between two materials of different temperatures.

Convection

The transfer of heat occurring through the movement of a heated fluid such as air or water.

Convection Current

The circulation of hot and cold fluid that transfers heat around a system.

Conduction

The transfer of heat through direct contact between particles, passing kinetic energy along without particles changing position significantly.

Radiation

The transfer of heat carried by electromagnetic waves (mainly infrared) without requiring particles or direct contact.

Wave

A repeated motion that transfers energy from one place to another.

Longitudinal Wave

A wave where back-and-forth particle vibrations move parallel to the direction of the wave.

Transverse Wave

A wave where particles move perpendicular to the direction of the wave.

Compression

An area of high particle density in a wave, representing a wave crest.

Rarefaction

An area of low particle density in a wave, representing a wave trough.

Wavelength

The distance between two adjacent crests or troughs, symbolized by $\lambda$.

Frequency

The number of waves that go by in one second, measured in Hertz ($\text{Hz}$).

Amplitude

The height of a transverse wave from its midpoint, related to the intensity or brightness/loudness of the transmitted energy.

Transmission

The process occurring when energy is transferred between materials as a wave travels through a medium.

Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)

A form of energy traveling at the speed of light as transverse waves made of electric and magnetic fields.

Refraction

The bending of light rays as they pass from one medium to another of a different density.

Refractive Index

A measure of how easily light travels through a substance, where denser materials have higher values.

Absorption of Light

Process occurring when light energy is taken in by a material and converted to other energy forms instead of being reflected or transmitted.

Static Electricity

An electrical phenomenon caused by the buildup and sudden discharge of transferred electrons between surfaces.

Current Electricity

The continuous, steady flow of electrons along a wire or conductor through a complete circuit.

Electrical Conductor

A material with low resistance that allows electrons to move freely.

Electrical Insulator

A material with high resistance where electrons are tightly bound, preventing free movement.

Electric Current

The rate of flow of electrons (charge) through a conductor.

Voltage

The amount of energy electrons need to move through a circuit.

Resistor

A component that restricts the flow of electrical current and uses up voltage in a circuit.

Series Circuit

A circuit in which all components are connected one after another to form a single path for electricity to flow.

Parallel Circuit

A circuit containing multiple branching pathways, allowing current to divide and components to operate independently.

Ohm's Law

The rule describing the mathematical relationship between voltage ($V$), current ($I$), and resistance ($R$), expressed as $V = I \times R$.

Theory of Conservation of Energy

The scientific rule stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed.

Kinetic Energy (KE)

The energy an object possesses because of its motion, calculated using $\text{KE} = \frac{1}{2}m v^2$.

Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)

The stored energy of an object due to its height above the ground, calculated using $\text{GPE} = m \times g \times h$.

Energy Transfer

The process in which the same type of energy is passed from one object to another.

Energy Transformation

The process in which one form of energy is changed into a different form of energy.

Sankey Diagram

A flow diagram representing energy transformations where the width of each arrow is proportional to the energy quantity.