Particles and Electromagnetic Radiation Notes

These flashcards cover key concepts related to particles, their properties, interactions, and phenomena associated with electromagnetic radiation.

Atom

The basic unit of a chemical element, composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Nucleus

The central part of an atom, made up of protons and neutrons.

Protons

Positively charged particles found in the nucleus of an atom.

Neutrons

Neutral particles found in the nucleus of an atom.

Electrons

Negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus in defined shells.

Specific Charge

The charge-to-mass ratio of a particle, calculated by dividing the charge by its mass.

Isotopes

Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Strong Nuclear Force (SNF)

The force that holds the nucleus together, counteracting the electrostatic force of repulsion between protons.

Alpha Decay

A type of decay in large nuclei where the proton number decreases by 2, and the nucleon number decreases by 4.

Beta-minus Decay

A type of decay that occurs in neutron-rich nuclei, where the proton number increases by 1, and the nucleon number remains the same.

Neutrinos

Subatomic particles theorized to explain missing energy in beta decay; they have no charge and very small mass.

Photon

A packet of electromagnetic radiation that has energy but no mass.

Annihilation

The process where a particle and its corresponding antiparticle collide, converting mass into energy.

Pair Production

The process where a high-energy photon is converted into a particle-antiparticle pair.

Exchange Particles

Particles that mediate forces between other particles; examples include gluons and W bosons.

Hadrons

Composite particles made of quarks, which experience the strong nuclear force.

Leptons

Fundamental particles that do not experience the strong nuclear force, such as electrons and neutrinos.

Quarks

Fundamental constituents of hadrons, categorized into different types such as up, down, and strange.

Conservation Laws

Principles that state certain properties (energy, momentum, charge, baryon number, lepton number) must remain constant in an isolated system.

Photoelectric Effect

The emission of electrons from a metal surface when it is exposed to light of sufficient frequency.

Work Function

The minimum energy needed to remove an electron from the surface of a metal.

Excitation

The process where an electron absorbs energy and moves to a higher energy level.

Ionisation

The process of removing an electron from an atom, often requiring energy greater than the ionisation energy.

Wave-Particle Duality

The concept that light and matter exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties.

De Broglie's Hypothesis

The theory proposing that all matter has wave-like properties, with wavelength inversely proportional to momentum.