Physics of Electricity, Light, and Sound Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering physics concepts including electricity, utilization, light, and sound.

Principle of Dichotomy

The electrostatic principle stating that two positive charges or two negative charges repel each other, while a positive charge and a negative charge attract each other.

Principle of Charge Conservation

The law stating that the algebraic sum of all the electric charges in any closed system is conserved.

Principle of Quantization

The principle stating that the magnitude of charge of the electron or proton is a natural unit of charge, making every electric charge an integer multiple of the fundamental charge $e$.

Electron Charge (e)

A fundamental constant representing the magnitude of electric charge equal to $1.602 \times 10^{-19}\,\text{C}$.

Conductors

Materials in which electrons move freely, permitting the flow of electric charge.

Insulators

Materials in which electrons are bound to atoms, preventing the flow of electric charge.

Polarization

The shifting of the distribution of charges within a material.

Static Electricity

A form of electricity characterized by the build-up of electric charge on the surface of objects.

Current Electricity

A form of electricity characterized by the flow of electric charge through a circuit.

Energy Consumption

The amount of electrical energy used over time, measured in kilowatt-hours ($\text{kWh}$) and calculated as Power ($\text{kW}$) multiplied by Time ($\text{h}$).

Generation Charge

The largest component of an electric bill, paid to power generation companies for producing electricity at power plants.

System Loss Charge

A fee on an electric bill paid to power generators and NGCP to cover approved electricity losses during transmission and distribution.

Energy Efficiency

The practice of using less energy to perform the same task or achieve the same result.

Electric Current (I)

The flow of electric charge through a conductor, measured in Amperes ($\text{A}$) or Coulombs per second.

Direct Current (DC)

An electric current in which electric charges flow in only one direction.

Alternating Current (AC)

An electric current in which electric charges oscillate back and forth.

Voltage (V)

The electric potential difference, representing the energy per unit charge that pushes electrons through a conductor, measured in Volts ($\text{V}$).

Resistance (R)

The property of a material that opposes the flow of electric current, measured in Ohms ($\Omega$).

Ohm's Law

The law stating that the current through a circuit is directly proportional to the potential difference across it and inversely proportional to the total resistance.

Series Circuit

A circuit type in which current is restricted to a single path, keeping current identical through every component.

Parallel Circuit

A circuit type where current can split across multiple paths or branches, maintaining equal voltage across each branch.

Electric Power (P)

The rate at which electric energy is transformed into other forms of energy, measured in Watts ($\text{W}$).

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The complete range of all frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.

Light

A form of energy propagating as an electromagnetic wave that does not require a medium to travel.

Photon

A small packet of energy describing the particle behavior of light.

Crest

The highest point of a wave representing maximum positive displacement from the rest position.

Trough

The lowest point of a wave representing maximum negative displacement from the rest position.

Amplitude

The height of a wave from its rest position to a crest or trough, indicating the energy carried by the wave.

Wavelength

The distance between two consecutive crests, troughs, or corresponding points on a wave, measured in meters ($\text{m}$).

Frequency

The number of wave cycles that pass a given point in one second, measured in Hertz ($\text{Hz}$).

Period

The time required for one complete wave cycle to pass a point, measured in seconds ($\text{s}$).

Reflection

The bouncing of light or sound waves off a surface.

Refraction

The bending of a wave as it passes from one medium to another due to a change in speed.

Dispersion

The process of separating white light into its component colors as it passes through a medium such as a prism.

Diffraction

The bending or spreading of waves around obstacles or through narrow openings.

Interference

A phenomenon where two or more waves overlap and combine to form a new wave pattern.

Constructive Interference

Interference occurring when crests align with crests and troughs align with troughs, resulting in wave amplification or brighter light.

Destructive Interference

Interference occurring when a crest aligns with a trough, resulting in wave extinction or darker light.

Accommodation

The process by which the human eye alters the shape of its lens to keep images sharply focused on the retina regardless of object distance.

Rods

Photoreceptor cells in the retina that detect dim light, enable night vision, and perceive only shades of black, white, and gray.

Cones

Photoreceptor cells in the retina that function best in bright light, detect color, and provide sharp detail.

Myopia

Nearsightedness, a vision condition where light focuses in front of the retina, corrected using a concave lens.

Hyperopia

Farsightedness, a vision condition where light focuses behind the retina, corrected using a convex lens.

Astigmatism

A vision condition caused by an uneven curvature of the cornea, corrected using a cylindrical lens.

Lasers

Devices producing a highly focused, coherent, and monochromatic beam of light via Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Sound

A form of energy produced when particles in a physical medium vibrate back and forth as longitudinal waves.

Compression

The region in a longitudinal wave where particles are pushed close together under high pressure.

Rarefaction

The region in a longitudinal wave where particles are spread far apart under low pressure.

Pitch

The perceived highness or lowness of a sound, which depends directly on wave frequency.

Loudness

The perceived intensity of a sound to human ears, measured in decibels ($\text{dB}$) and dependent on wave amplitude.

Echo

A repeated sound heard when sound waves bounce off a distant surface.

Reverberation

A series of overlapping echoes caused by multiple rapid reflections of sound off nearby surfaces in an enclosed space.

Doppler Effect

The change in the observed frequency or pitch of a sound due to the motion of the source or the listener.

SONAR

Sound Navigation and Ranging, a technology that emits underwater sound pulses to calculate distance based on returning echo times.

SOFAR Channel

Sound Fixing and Ranging channel, a horizontal layer in the ocean located around $1000\,\text{m}$ deep where sound waves travel long distances with minimal energy loss.