HL Physics

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258 Terms

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absolute uncertainty
a quantity giving the extremes a measured value falls within
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absolute zero
the temperature at which all random motion of molecules stops
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absorption spectra
the set of wavelengths of photons absorbed by a substance
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acceleration of free fall
the acceleration due to the pull of the Earth on a body
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accurate
a measurement where the systematic error is small and so close to the "true" value
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activity
the rate of decay of a radioactive sample
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albedo
the ration of scattered to incident intensity of radiation
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alpha particle
the nucleus of helium-4
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alternating current (ac)
current in which electrons oscillate instead of moving with the same drift speed in the same direction
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Amonton's law or Gay-Lussac's law
the relation between pressure and temperature of a fixed quantity of an ideal gas when the volume is kept constant
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amplitude
the largest value of the displacement from equilibrium of an oscillation
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angular frequency or angular speed
the ratio of angle turned to time taken
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angular momentum
the product of mass, speed and orbit radius of a particle
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angular separation
the angle that the distance between two objects subtends at the observer's eye
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antinode
a point in a medium with a standing wave where the displacement is momentarily a maximum
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anti-particle
a particle with the same mass as its particle but with all other properties opposite, such as electric charge
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atomic (or proton) number
the number of protons in a nucleus
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atomic mass unit
a unit of mass equal to 1/12 the mass of a neutral atom of carbon-12
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average speed
the ratio of distance travelled to total time taken
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average velocity
the ratio of displacement to total time taken
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Avogadro constant
the number of particles in one mole
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baryon
a particle made up of three quarks
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baryon number
a conserved quantum number; it is assigned to each quark, and by extension to baryons
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beta minus decay
a decay producing an electron and an anti-neutrino
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beta plus decay
a decay producing a positron and a neutrino
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binding energy
the minimum energy that must be supplied to completely separate the nucleons in a nucleus or the energy released when a nucleus is assembled
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black body
a theoretical body that reflects none of the radiation incident on it and so absorbs all of it
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blue-shift
a decrease in the observed wavelength
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boiling
the change from the liquid to the vapour state at a specific constant temperature
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Boyle's law
the relation between pressure and volume of a fixed quantity of an ideal gas when temperature is kept constant
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capacitance
the charge that can be stored on a capacitor per unit voltage
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centripetal acceleration
the acceleration due to a changing direction of velocity
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centripetal force
a force pointing to the centre of a circular path
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chain reaction
a self-sustaining reaction
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charge carrier
charged particles that are able to move, creating an electric current
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Charles' law
the relation between volume and temperature of a fixed quantity of an ideal gas when the pressure is kept constant
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coefficient of dynamic friction
the ratio of the force of friction to the normal reaction force on a body while the body is sliding on a surface
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coefficient of static friction
the ratio of the maximum force of friction that can develop between two bodies to the normal reaction force on a body while the body is at rest
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coherent
sources whose phase difference is constant in time
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compression
a point in a medium through which a wave is travelling that has maximum density
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condensation
the change from the vapour to the liquid state
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conduction
the transfer of heat through electron and molecular collisions
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conservation of energy
the principle that energy cannot be destroyed or created but can only be changed from one form into another
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conservation of momentum
when the net force on a system is zero, the total momentum of the system is constant
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conserved
a quantity that states the same before and after an interaction
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constructive interference
the superposition of two identical waves that arrive at a point in phase
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control rod
a rod that regulates the the rate of energy release in a nuclear fission reactor by regulating the absorption of neutrons
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convection current
motion of a fluid as a result of differences in fluid density
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convection
the transfer of heat in fluids through differences in fluid density
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Coulomb's law
the electric force between two point charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of their separation
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crest
a point on a wave of maximum displacement
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critical angle
the angle of incidence for which the angle of refraction is a right angle
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critical mass
the smallest mass of fissionable material that can sustain fission reactions
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decay constant
the probability per unit time for a nucleus to decay
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destructive interference
the superposition of two identical waves that arrive at a point 180 degrees out of phase
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diffraction
the spreading of a wave past an aperture or an obstacle
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diffraction grating
a series of very many and very narrow slits
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diode
a device that lets current through it only in one direction
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diode bridge rectifier
a circuit that achieved full-wave rectification
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dipole
a pair of two equal and opposite electric charges
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direct current (dc)
current in which electrons move in the same direction with the same average drift speed
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discrete
energy that can take a set of specific values as opposed to a continuous range of values
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dispersion
the dependence of refractive index on wavelength
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displacement
the change in position; for an oscillation, the distance between the position of a particle and its equilibrium position
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Doppler effect
the change in measured frequency when there is relative motion between source and observer
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drag force
a force of resistance to motion
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eddy currents
small induced currents in a conductor where the flux is changing that dissipate energy
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efficiency
the ratio of useful work or power to input work or power
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elastic potential energy
the energy stored in a spring when it is compressed or stretched
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electric field strength
the electric force per unit charge experienced by a small point positive charge
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electric potential
the work done per unit charge by and external agent in bringing a small point positive charge from infinity to a point
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electric potential energy
the work that needs to be done by and external agent in order to bring a set of charges from where they were separated by an infinite distance to their current position
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electric resistance
the ratio of the voltage across a device to the current through it
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electromagnetic
an interaction mediated by the exchange of photons
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electromagnetic waves
transverse waves moving at the speed of light in vacuum consisting of oscillating electric and magnetic fields at right angles to each other
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electroweak interaction
the interaction that is the unification of the electromagnetic and weak nuclear interactions
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elementary particles
particles that have no constituents
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emf
the work done per unit charge in moving charge across the terminals of a battery
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emission spectrum
the set of wavelengths of photons radiated by a substance
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emissivity
the ratio of the intensity radiated by a body to the intensity radiated by a black body of the same temperature
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energy density
the energy that can be obtained from a unit volume of fuel
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equation of state
the equation relating pressure, volume, temperature and number of moles of a gas
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equilibrium
the state when the net force on a system is zero
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equipotential surfaces
set of points that have the same potential
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escape velocity
the minimum speed at launch so that a particle can move to infinity and never return
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exchange particle
an elementary particle used as the intermediary of an interaction
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excited state
a state of energy higher than the ground state
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family lepton number
a quantum number assigned to each lepton in each family
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Faraday's law
the induced emf in a loop is the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage through the loop
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Feynman diagram
a pictorial representation of an interaction
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first harmonic
the mode of vibration of a standing wave of lowest frequency
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flux linkage
the magnetic flux in a loop times the number of turns in the loop
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force pair
two forces acting on different bodies that are equal and opposite according to Newton's third law
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fractional uncertainty
the ratio of the absolute uncertainty to the mean value of a quantity
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free-body diagram
a diagram showing a body in isolation with all forces acting on it drawn as arrows
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freezing
the change from the liquid to the solid state at a specific constant temperature
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frequency
the number of full oscillations or waves in unit time
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fuel rods
containers of nuclear fuels in a nuclear fission reactor
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full-wave recitification
the turning of ac current into dc current during both halves of the cycle
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gamma ray
a photon