Glossary for Academic Decathlon “Science”

Alternating Current

A current where the direction of the current switches back and forth, opposed to direct current.

Ampere's Law

An equation relating the electric current passing through a closed loop to the strength of the magnetic field pointing along that loop.

Amplitude

The maximum amount a wave oscillates, also known as the intensity of the wave.

Atom

The building block of matter; contains a nucleus with protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons.

Battery

A device that maintains a constant voltage allowing current to keep flowing.

Cathode Ray Tube

A device that accelerates electrons and magnetically deflects them onto different parts of a screen to create an image.

Conductor

A type of material that allows electric charge to flow freely through it; the opposite of an insulator.

Coulomb's Law

An equation describing the electric force between objects with electric charge.

Dielectric

Material inserted in a capacitor to allow it to store more charge by reducing the electric field within it.

Electric Breakdown

Occurs when the voltage becomes too high for the dielectric to resist current flow, resulting in a temporary burst of current.

Diode

An element of an electric circuit that only allows current to flow in one direction; often used to convert alternating current to direct current.

Direct current

A current where current flows in one direction, as opposed to alternating current.

Electric Charge

A fundamental quantity of particles that determines how much the particles experience electric and magnetic forces.

Electric Circuit

A closed loop, typically with wire, that allows the continuous flow of current.

Electric Current

The amount of charge flow, measured in amps (coulombs per second).

Electric Dipole

A configuration of charge with positive and negative charge separated by a short distance.

Electric Field

A vector field created by a charged particle, indicating how other charges interact with it.

Electric Field Flux

The amount of electric field passing through some area.

Electric Force

Known as Coulomb's Law, describing the force between charged objects.

Electric Polarization

Refers to the separation of positive and negative charges within a neutral object.

Electric Potential

The amount of energy per charge.

Electric Potential Energy

The energy associated with an object's position in an electric field; can be converted into kinetic energy.

Electromagnetic Force

The fundamental force that gives rise to both electric and magnetic forces.