Physics Electric and Magnetic Fields

Vocabulary flashcards for electric and magnetic fields.

Parallel to a Uniform Electric Field

Moving in the same direction as the electric field.

Antiparallel to a Uniform Electric Field

Moving in the opposite direction to the electric field.

Cyclotron

A particle accelerator that uses an electric field between dees to accelerate ions and a magnetic field to make them move in a circular path.

Uniform Circular Motion

Motion at constant speed in a circular path.

Lenz's Law

An induced current has a magnetic field that acts in a direction that opposes the change in magnetic flux that induced the current.

Eddy Currents

Circular currents produced in a conductor when the conductor experiences a change in magnetic flux.

Generator

A device with a conducting loop rotating between fixed magnets to produce electric current.

Transformer

A device used in electrical circuits to step up or step down the voltage.

Corona Discharge

A stream of air particles flowing away from a sharp point due to ionization caused by a strong electric field.

Coulomb's Law

Describes the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged objects, shown in the formula:

Where F is the electrostatic force, q1 and q2 are the magnitude of the charges, r is the distance between the charges and k is Coulomb’s constant.

Faraday's Law

Faraday's Law describes how a changing magnetic field creates an electric field, shown through the formula:

Where E is the induced electromotive force (EMF), N is the number of turns in the coil, and ΔΦ÷Δt is the rate of change of magnetic flux.