Basic Definitions

(Physics)

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 PHYSICS

 Hooke's Law: Within the elastic limit of a solid material, the deformation
(strain)produced by a force (stress) of any kind is proportional to the force. If the
elastic limit isnot exceeded, the material returns to its original shape and size after the
force is removed, otherwise it remains deformed or stretched. We can also say that
stress is directly proportional to strain.

 Ohm's Law: Ohm's Law is the mathematical relationship among electric current,
resistance,and voltage. In direct-current (DC) circuits, Ohm's Law is simple and linear.
Suppose a resistance having a value of R ohms carries a current of I amperes. Then the
voltage across the resistor is equal to the product IR. There are two corollaries. If a DC
power source providing E volts is placed across a resistance of R ohms, then the current
through the resistanceis equal to E/R amperes. Also, in a DC circuit, if Evolts appear
across a component that carries I amperes, then the resistance of that component is
equal to E/I ohms.
Mathematically, Ohm's Law for DC circuits canbe stated as three equations:

E = IR, I = E/R, R = E/I.

 Law of Archimedes: The apparent loss in weight of a body immersed in a fluid is

equal tothe weight of the displaced fluid. e.g, ships sailson this principle.

 Doppler’s Effect: The Doppler effect (or Doppler shift) is the change in frequency
of a wave (or other periodic event) for an observermoving relative to its source.

 Pascal’s law: According to the Pascal’s law “Ifgravity effect is neglected, the pressure
at every point in a liquid in equilibrium of rest is same.”This law also accounts for the
principle of transmission of pressure in liquids or gases.
In this form, Pascal’s law states that “the increase in pressure at one point of an enclosed
fluid in equilibrium of rest is transmitted equallyto all other points of the liquid and also
to the walls of the container, provided the effect of
gravity is neglected.”e.g, vehicles tyres with air,its brakes, hydraulic jacks etc.

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 Density: A material's density is defined as its mass per unit volume. It is, essentially, a

measurement of how tightly matter is crammedtogether. e.g, Air density decreases

with increase of height from the sea level.

 Newton's First Law : Newton's first law of motion states that "An object at rest
stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the
same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Objects tend to "keep on
doing what they're doing." In fact, it is the natural tendency of objects to resist
changes in their state of motion. This tendency to resist changes in their state of
motion is described as inertia.

 Inertia: The resistance, an object has to achange in its state of motion.

 Pitch: The quality of a sound

governed by the rate of vibrations producing it, or the degree of highness or lowness of
a tone. e.g, females have high pitch sound as comparedto men.

 Vectors: have magnitude and direction,

 Scalars: only have magnitude.

The fact that magnitude occurs for both scalars and vectors can lead to some confusion.
There are some quantities, like speed, which have very special definitions for scientists. By
definition, speed is the scalar magnitude of a velocity vector.

 Boyle's law : Boyle's law (or Mariotte's law) isan experimental gas law which
describes how the pressure of a gas tends to decrease as the volume of a gas
increases. A modern statementof Boyle's law is the absolute pressure exerted by a
given mass of an ideal gas is inversely proportional to the volume it occupies
if the temperature and amount of gas remainunchanged within a closed system.

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 BRANCHES OF PHYSICS

 MECHANICS: The branch of applied mathematics dealing with motion and

forcesproducing motion.

 HEAT: Heat is the form of energy that is transferred between two substances at
different temperatures. The direction of energyflow is from the substance of higher
temperature to the substance of lower temperature. Heat is measured in units of
energy, usually calories or joules. Heat and temperature are often used
interchangeably, but this is incorrect. Temperature is the measure of hotness or
coldness of
matter. Stated another way, temperature is theaverage kinetic energy per molecule of
a substance. Temperature is measured in degreeson the Celsius (C) or Fahrenheit (F)
scale, or in kelvins (K).

 THERMODYNAMICS: Thermodynamics is thestudy of heat and its transformation to

mechanical energy.

 SOUND: Vibrations that travel through the airor another medium and can be heard
when they reach a person's or animal's ear. "light travels faster than sound"

 LIGHT (OPTICS): Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior
and properties of light, including its interactionswith matter and the
construction of instruments that use or detect it.

 ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM: Electricity and magnetism are manifestations of

a single underlying electromagnetic force. Electromagnetism is a branch of physical
science that describes the interactions of electricity and magnetism, both as
separate phenomena and as a singular electromagneticforce.

 ATOMIC PHYSICS: Atomic physics is the fieldof physics that studies atoms as an
isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the
arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and the processesby which these
arrangements change. This includes ions as well as neutral atoms
and, unless otherwise stated, for the purposes of this discussion it should be assumed
that theterm atom includes ions.
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 NUCLEAR PHYSICS: Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic
nuclei and their constituents and interactions. The most commonly known
application of nuclear physicsis nuclear power generation, but the research has led
to applications in many fields, including nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance
imaging, nuclear weapons, ion implantation inmaterials engineering, and
radiocarbon datingin geology and archaeology.

 PLASMA PHYSICS: Plasma is one of the fourfundamental states of matter, the

others being solid, liquid, and gas. Plasma has properties unlike those of the other
states. Plasma can be created by heating a gas or subjecting it to a strong
electromagnetic field applied with a laseror microwave generator. This decreases or
increases the number of electrons, creating positive or negative charged particles called
ions and is accompanied by the dissociation of molecular bonds, if present.

 GEOPHYSICS: Geophysics is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical

processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment,
and theuse of quantitative methods for their analysis.
The term geophysics sometimes refers only tothe geological applications: Earth's
shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and composition;
its dynamics and their surface expression in plate tectonics, thegeneration of
magmas, volcanism and rock formation.

 MASS: Mass (symbolized m) is a dimensionlessquantity representing the amount of

matter in aparticle or object. The standard unit of mass in the International System (SI)
is the kilogram (kg).

 SOLID: A solid is a sample of matter thatretains its shape and density when
not confined.

 LIQUID: A liquid is a sample of matter that conforms to the shape of a container in

which it is held.

 GAS: A gas is a sample of matter that conforms to the shape of a container in which it
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 is held and acquires a uniform density.

 POTENTIAL ENERGY: In physics, potential energy is the energy that an object

has due toits position in a force field.

 KINETIC ENERGY: In physics, the kineticenergy of an object is the energy

that it possesses due to its motion.

MOTION AND ITS TYPES

 MOTION (physics): In physics, motionis a change in position of an

object with respect to time. Motion is typically described in terms of
displacement, distance (scalar), speed, velocity, acceleration and time.

 NEWTON'S LAWS OF MOTION: Newton's Laws of motion are three

physical laws that, together, laid the foundation for classical mechanics.
They describe the relationship between a bodyand the forces acting upon it,
and its motion in response to those forces. They have been expressed in
several different ways, over nearly three centuries and can be summarized
as follows:-
 FIRST LAW: When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either
remainsat
rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a
force.

 SECOND LAW: The vector sum of the forces F on an object is equal to the
massm of that object multiplied by the acceleration vector a of the object:-

F = ma.

 THIRD LAW: When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second
body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction on thefirst body.

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  LINEAR MOTION: Linear motion is a motion along a straight line, and can
therefore be described mathematically using only one spatial dimension. The
linearmotion can be of two types: uniform linear motion with constant velocity
or zero acceleration; non uniform linear motion with variable velocity or non
zero acceleration. The motion of a particle (apoint-like object) along a line
can be described by its position x, which varies with t (time). An example
of linear motion is an athlete running 100m alonga straight track.
 TORQUE: Torque, moment, or moment of force (see the terminology
below) is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis,
fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be
thought of as a twist to anobject. Mathematically, torque is definedas the
cross product of the position vector of the point where the force is applied
(distance vector) and the force vector, which tends to produce rotation.
Loosely speaking, torque is a measure of the turning force on an object
such asa bolt or a flywheel. For example, pushing or pulling the handle of
a wrench connected to a nut or bolt produces a torque (turning force) that
loosens or tightens the nut or bolt.
 REST: Rest, refers to an object being stationary relative to a particular
frame of reference or another object. When the position of a body with
respect to itssurroundings does not change with timeit is said to be "at
rest".

 VIBRATION: Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations

occurabout an equilibrium point.
 FREQUENCY: Frequency is the number ofoccurrences of a repeating event
per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency, which
emphasizes the contrast to spatial frequency and angular frequency. The
period is the duration of time of one cycle in a repeating event, so the
period is the reciprocal of the frequency. Frequency is an important
parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of
oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations,
audio (sound) signals, radio waves, and light.

 POSITION: In geometry, a position or position vector, also known as

locationvector or radius vector.

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  DISTANCE: Distance is a numerical description of how far apart objects
are.In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical
length.

 DISPLACEMENT: The difference between the final and initial position of a

point (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual
path coveredto reach the final position is irrelevant. Itcan simply be
defined as the length of the shortest path between the final pointand
initial point of a body.

 SPEED: The speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity (the

rate of change of its position); it is thus
a scalar quantity.

VELOCITY: The velocity of an object is the rate of change of its position with
respect to a frame of reference, and is a function of time. Velocity is
equivalent to a specification of its speed and direction of motion (e.g. 60 km/h
to the north).

 ACCELERATION: in physics, is the rate of change of velocity of an object. An

object's acceleration is the net result of anyand all forces acting on the object,
as described by Newton's Second Law. The SI unit for acceleration is meter per
second squared (m s-2). Accelerations are vector quantities (they have
magnitude and direction).

 VOLUME: Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by

some closedboundary, for example, the space that a substance (solid, liquid,
gas, or plasma) or shape occupies or contains. Volume is
often quantified numerically using the SIderived unit, the cubic meter.

 FORCE: A force is any interaction that, when unopposed, will change the
motionof an object. In other words, a force can cause an object with mass
to change its velocity (which includes to begin moving from a state of rest),
i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described by intuitive concepts such as
a push or a pull. A
force has both magnitude and direction, making it a vector quantity. It is
measuredin the SI unit of newton’s and representedby the symbol F.

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  PRESSURE: Pressure is the force appliedperpendicular to the surface of an
object per unit area over which that force is distributed.

 CHARGE: A charge may refer to one ofmany different quantities, such as

the electric charge in electromagnetism.

 VERNIER CALLIPER: A vernier scale is adevice that lets the user measure
more precisely than could be done unaided whenreading a uniformly divided
straight or circular measurement scale. It is a scale that indicates where the
measurement lies in between two of the marks on the main scale. Vernier’s are
common on sextants used in navigation, scientific instruments used to conduct
experiments, machinists' measuring tools

 MOMENTUM: Momentum is the productof the mass and velocity of an

object. For example, a heavy truck moving rapidly has
a large momentum. It takes a large or prolonged force to get the truck up to this
speed, and it takes a large or prolonged force to bring it to a stop afterwards. If
thetruck were lighter or moving more slowly, then it would have less
momentum. Like velocity, linear momentum is a vector quantity, possessing a
direction as well as amagnitude. P = m.v

 FRICTION: Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces,
fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are
several typesof friction:

 DRY FRICTION Resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in

contact. Dryfriction is subdivided into static friction ("stiction") between
nonmoving surfaces, and kinetic friction between moving

surfaces.

 FLUID FRICTION Describes the friction between layers of a viscous fluid

that are moving relative to each other.

 LUBRICATED FRICTION Lubricated friction is a case of fluid friction where

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 a lubricant fluid separates two solid surfaces.

 SKIN FRICTION Skin friction is a component of drag, the force resisting the
motion of a fluid across the

surface of a body.

 INTERNAL FRICTION Internal friction isthe force resisting motion between

the elements making up a solid material while

it undergoes deformation.

 CENTRIPETAL/ CENTRIFUGAL FORCES: If an object were

simultaneously subject to both a centripetal force and an equal and opposite
centrifugal force, the resultant force would vanish and the object could not
experience a circular motion. The centrifugal force is sometimes called a
fictitious force or pseudo force, to underscore the fact that such a force only
appears when calculationsor measurements are conducted in non- inertial
reference frames.

 COLLISION: The meeting of particles or of bodies in which each exerts a

force uponthe other, causing the exchange of energy or momentum.

 TENSION: The state of being stretched orstrained.

 STRESS: The physical pressure, pull, orother force exerted on one thing
by another; strain.

 STRAIN: To cause mechanical deformation in (a body or structure) as the

result of stress

 LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM: The law states that for a

collision occurring between object 1 and object 2 in an isolated system, the
total momentum of the two objects before the collision is equal to the total
momentum ofthe two objects after the collision. That is, the momentum lost
by object 1 is equal to

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 the momentum gained by object 2.

 LEVER AND ITS KINDS: A lever is basically just a long stick that you push
or pull against a fulcrum to move something.A lever helps you move
something heavy, or make something go. There are three types of levers:-

 FIRST-CLASS: First-Class lever is a stickwhere the fulcrum is between the

weight and the energy moving the weight (your hands, for example). Some
common first- class levers are see-saws, crowbars, pliers,scissors (which use
two first-class levers together), and a hammer pulling a nail.

 SECOND-CLASS: Second-Class lever is a stick where the fulcrum is at one

end of thestick, you push on the other end, and the
weight is in the middle of the stick. Some common second-class levers are doors,
staplers, wheelbarrows, and can openers.

 THIRD-CLASS: Third-Class lever is a stickwhere the fulcrum is at one end of

the stick, you push on the middle, and the weight is at the other end of the
stick. Witha third-class lever, you have to put in more energy than you would
just lifting the weight, but you get the weight to move a longer distance in
return. Some common examples are a broom, a hoe, a fishing rod,a baseball
bat, and our own human arms.

 GRAVITY: The force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall

towardthe center of the earth.
 EQUILIBRIUM: A state of rest or balancedue to the equal action of opposing
forces.

 MASS OF EARTH: (M , where is the

standard astronomical symbol for planet Earth) is the unit of mass equal to
that of Earth. This value includes the atmospherebut excludes the moon.

M = (5.9722±0.0006)×1024 kg

 ENERGY: The ability to do work. It is ascalar quantity.

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  WORK: Work is done whenever a force results in a displacement. The
componentof the force parallel to the displacement iswhat matters is the
scalar.
 MATTER: The substance or substances ofwhich any physical object consists
or is composed: The matter of

which the earth is made.

 PLASMA: Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, the others
being solid, liquid, and gas. Plasma has properties unlike those of the other
states.

 ELASTICITY: Elasticity is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence or

stress and to return to its original size and shape when the stress is removed.
Solid objects will deform when forces are appliedon them. If the material is
elastic, the object will return to its initial shape and size when these forces are
removed.
 YOUNG’S MODULUS: Young’s modulus which is also known as the elastic
modulus,is a mechanical property of linear elastic solid materials. It defines the
relationship between stress (force per unit area) and strain (proportional
deformation) in a material.

 TEMPERATURE: It is an objective comparative measure of hot or cold. It is

measured by a thermometer, which may work through the bulk behavior of a
thermometric material, detection of thermal radiation, or particle kinetic
energy. Several scales and units exist for measuring temperature, the most
commonbeing Celsius (denoted °C; formerly called centigrade), Fahrenheit
(denoted °F), and, especially in science, Kelvin

(denoted K).
 HEAT: Heat is energy as it spontaneouslypasses between a system and its
surroundings.

 MELTING POINT: The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a solid
is the temperature at which it changes state fromsolid to liquid at atmospheric
pressure.

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  BOILING POINT: The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at
which thevapor pressure of the liquid equals the pressure surrounding the
liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor.

 FREEZING POINT: When considered asthe temperature of the reverse

change from liquid to solid, it is referred to as thefreezing point or
crystallization point.

 EVAPORATION: Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs

from the
surface of a liquid into a gaseous phase thatis not saturated with the
evaporating substance. The other type of vaporization isboiling, which is
characterized by bubbles of saturated vapor forming in the liquid phase. Steam
produced in a boiler is another example of evaporation occurring in a saturated
vapor phase. Evaporation that
occurs directly from the solid phasebelow the melting point, as
commonly observed with
ice at or below freezing or mothcrystals (naphthalene or
Para dichlorobenzene), is called sublimation.

 CONDUCTION: The transfer of heat between two parts of a stationary

system,caused by a temperature

difference between the parts.

 LENGTH: In geometric measurements, length is the most extended dimension

of an object. In the International System of Quantities, length is any quantity
with dimension distance. Length may be distinguished from height, which is
vertical extent, and width or breadth, which are thedistance from side to side,
measuring across the object at right angles to the length. Length is a measure of
one dimension, whereas area is a measure of two dimensions (length squared)
and volume is a measure of three

dimensions (length cubed).

 NANO: Nano - (symbol n) is a unit prefix meaning one billionth. Used

primarily withthe metric system, this
prefix denotes a factor of 10-9 or 0.000000001. It is frequently encountered

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 in science and electronics for prefixing units of time and
length.Examples:
One nanometer is about the length that afingernail grows in one second.
Three gold atoms lined up are about one nanometer long. If a toy marble were
scaled down to one nanometer wide, Earthwould scale to about one meter (3.3
feet) wide.

 MOTION: Motion is a change in position ofan object with respect to time.

Motion is typically described in terms of displacement, distance (scalar),
velocity, acceleration, time and speed.

 VOLT: The volt (symbol: V) is the derived unit for electric potential, electric
potentialdifference (voltage), and electromotive

force.

 AMPERE: The ampere (SI unit symbol: A),often shortened to "amp", is the SI
unit of electric current.

 WATT: The watt (symbol: W) is a derived unit of power in the International

System ofUnits (SI). The unit is defined as joule per second and can be used to
express the
rate of energy conversion or transfer withrespect to time.

 JOULE: The SI unit of energy. The relationship between the current through a
resistor and the heat dissipated, is called Joule's first law.

 WEIGHT: The weight of an object is usually taken to be the force on the object
due to gravity. Weight is a vector whose magnitude (a scalar quantity), often
denoted by an italic letter W, is the productof the mass m of the object and the
magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus: W = mg.
The unit of measurement for weight is that of force, which in the International
System of Units (SI) is the newton. For example, an object with a mass of one
kilogram has a weight of about 9.8 newtons on the surfaceof the Earth, and
about one-sixth as much on the Moon. In this sense of weight, a body can be
weightless only if it is far away (in principle infinitely far away) from any other
mass. Although weight and mass are

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 scientifically distinct quantities, the termsare often confused with each other in
everyday use.

 NEWTON’S LAW OF GRAVITATION: Newton's law of universal gravitation

statesthat any two bodies in the universe attract each other with a force that is
directly proportional to the product of their massesand inversely proportional
to the square of the distance between them.

 GRAVITATIONAL POTENTIAL ENERGY: Gravitational energy is potential

energy associated with the
gravitational field.

 ELASTIC POTENTIAL ENERGY: Elasticenergy is the potential mechanical

energy stored in the

configuration of a material or physical

system as work is performed to distort itsvolume or shape.[citation
needed] Elastic energy occurs when objects are compressed and stretched, or
generallydeformed in any

manner.

 POWER: The rate at which work isperformed or energy is

converted:-

a. Electric power, the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by a

circuit.

b. Horsepower, a unit of measurementfor a mechanical engine's

power output over time, mostly
used in non-metric countries such as theUnited States.

 EINSTEIN’S MASS-ENERGY EQUATION: Relationship between mass

(m) and energy (E) in the special theory of

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 relativity of Albert Einstein, embodied by the formula E = mc2, where c
equals 300,000 km (186,000 miles) per second—i.e., the speed of light.

 BAROMETER: Any instrument thatmeasures atmospheric

pressure.

 BUOYANT FORCE: The law that a bodyimmersed in a fluid is buoyed up by

a force(buoyant force) equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.
It is also calledArchimedes' principle.

 CONDENSATION: The result of being made more compact or dense. The

act orprocess of reducing a gas or vapor to a liquid or solid form.
 RADIATION: Radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of
wavesor particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:-

A. Electro-magnetic radiation such as radio waves, visible light, xrays, and

gammaradiation

(γ).

B. Particle radiation such as alpharadiation (α), beta radiation

(β), and neutron radiation

(particles of non-zero rest energy).

C. Acoustic radiation such as ultrasound, sound, and seismic

waves (dependent on a physical transmissionmedium)

 WAVES: Waves are oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that

travel through space or mass.

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  THEORY OF RELATIVITY: A theory, formulated essentially by Albert
Einstein That all motion must be defined relative toa frame of reference and
that space and time are relative, rather than absolute concepts: it consists of
two principal parts.The theory dealing with uniform motion (special theory of
relativity or special relativity) is based on the two postulates that physical laws
have the same mathematical form when expressed in anyinertial system, and
the velocity of light is independent of the motion of its source and will have
the same value when measured by observers moving with constant velocity
with respect to each other.

 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT: The phenomenon in which the

absorption ofelectromagnetic radiation, as light, of sufficiently high
frequency by a surface,
usually metallic, induces the emission ofelectrons from the surface. Also called
photoemission.

 TELESCOPE: An optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger

and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms (refracting telescope)
consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an
adjustable eyepiece orcombination of lenses set into the other end of a tube
that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed
directly; the other form (reflecting telescope) has a concave mirror that
gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or
combination of lenses through which thereflection of the object is
enlarged and viewed.

 SPECTROSCOPE: An optical device for producing and observing a

spectrum oflight or radiation from any source, consisting essentially of a
slit through which the radiation passes, a collimating lens, and an Amici
prism.

 MICROSCOPE: An optical instrument having a magnifying lens or a

combination of lenses for inspecting objects too small to be seen or too
smallto be seen distinctly and in detail by the unaided eye.

 RADIO TELESCOPE: A system consistingof an antenna, either parabolic

or dipolar, used to gather radio
waves emitted by celestial sources andbring them to a receiver placed
in the focus.

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  RETARDATION: Retardation is the act orresult of delaying; the extent to
which anything is retarded or delayed; that which retards or delays.

 PROJECTILE: An object fired from a gunwith an explosive propelling

charge, such as a bullet, shell, rocket, or grenade. A body projected
or impelledforward, as through the air.

 INTERFERENCE: The process in which two or more light, sound, or

electromagnetic waves of the same frequency combine to reinforce or
cancel each other, the amplitude of theresulting wave being equal to
the sum of the amplitudes of thecombining waves.

 DIFFRACTION: The bending of waves, especially sound and light waves,

aroundobstacles in their path.

 REFRACTION: The change of direction ofa ray of light, sound, heat, or the
like, in passing obliquely from one medium into another in which its wave
velocity is different.

 POLARIZATION:-
A. Optics. A state or the production of astate, in which rays of light or
similar radiation exhibit, different properties in different directions.
 B. Electricity. The deposit of gases, produced during electrolysis,
on the
electrodes of a cell, increasing the resistance of the cell. A vector
quantity,indicating the electric dipole moment per unit of volume of a
dielectric. The induction of polarity, in a ferromagneticsubstance.

 MECHANICAL WAVES: A mechanical wave is a wave that is an oscillation

of matter, and therefore transfers energy through a medium. While
waves can move over long distances, the movement of the medium of
transmission—the material—is limited. Therefore, oscillating material does
not move far from its initial equilibrium position. Mechanical waves
transport energy. This energy propagates in the same direction as the
wave. Any kind ofwave (mechanical or electromagnetic) has certain
energy. Mechanical waves can be produced only in media which

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 possess elasticity and inertia.

 ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES: Electromagnetic waves are waves which

can travel through the vacuum of outer space. Mechanical waves,
unlike electromagnetic waves, requirethe presence of a material
medium in
order to transport their energy from onelocation to another.

 SOUND WAVES: A sound wave is the pattern of disturbance caused by the

movement of energy traveling through amedium (such as air, water, or
any other liquid or solid matter) as it propagates away from the source of
thesound. The source is some object that causes a vibration, such as a
ringing telephone, or a person's vocal chords. The vibration disturbs the
particles in the surrounding medium; those particles
disturb those next to them, and so on. The pattern of the disturbance
creates outward movement in a wave pattern, like waves of seawater
on the ocean.
The wave carries the sound energy through the medium, usually in all
directions and less intensely as it movesfarther from the source.

 RADIO WAVES: Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with

wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light.
Radio waves have frequencies from 300GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and
corresponding wavelengths ranging from 1 millimeter (0.039 in) to 100
kilometers (62 mi). Like all other electromagnetic waves, they travel at the
speed of light.
 ULTRAVIOLET WAVES: Radiation in the part of the electromagnetic
spectrum where wavelengths are just shorter thanthose of ordinary,
visible violet light but longer than those of x-rays.

 X RAYS: An electromagnetic wave of high energy and very short

wavelength,which is able to pass through
many materials opaque to light.

 ALPHA RAYS: A positively charged nuclear particle identical with the

nucleus of a helium atom that consists of two protons and two neutrons and is
ejected athigh speed in certain radioactive transformations—called also alpha,
alpha ray.

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  BETA RAYS: A fast-moving electron emitted by radioactive decay of
substances.OR A beta particle, sometimes called beta ray, denoted by the
lower-case Greek letterbeta (β), is a high-energy, high-speed electron or
positron emitted in the radioactive decay of an atomic nucleus, such as a
potassium-40 nucleus,
in the process of beta decay. Two forms of beta decay, β- and β+, respectively
produceelectrons and positrons. Beta particles are atype of ionizing radiation.

 GAMMA RAYS: Gamma radiation (sometimes called gamma ray), denoted

bythe lower-case Greek letter gamma (γ), is extremely high-frequency
electromagnetic radiation and therefore consists of high- energy photons.
 TRANSVERSE WAVES: A transverse wave is a moving wave that consists of
oscillations occurring perpendicular (or right angled) to the direction of energy
transfer. If a transverse wave is moving in the positive xdirection, its oscillations
are inup and down directions that lie in the y–z plane. Light is an example of a
transverse wave. With regard to transverse waves in matter, the displacement
of the medium
is perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave. A ripple in a pond
and a wave on a string are easily visualized as transverse waves.

 COMPRESSIONAL WAVES: Mechanical longitudinal waves are also called

compressional waves or compressionwaves, because they produce compression
and rarefaction when traveling through a medium. The other main type of wave
is
the transverse wave, in which the displacements of the medium are at right
angles to the direction of propagation.

 LONGITUDINAL WAVES: A wave that oscillates back and forth on an axis

that is the same as the axis along which the wavepropagates. Sound waves
are longitudinal waves, since the air molecules are displaced forward and
backward on the same axis along which the sound travels.

 WAVELENGTH: The distance between successive crests of a wave,

especially points in a sound wave or electromagneticwave

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 concave lens is also symmetrical across both itshorizontal and
vertical axis.

 TIME PERIOD: A period T is the time needed for one complete cycle of
vibrationto pass a given point. As the frequency of a wave increases, the
period of the wave decreases.

 WAVE NUMBER: Sometimes called the propagation number, is in broad

terms ameasure of spatial scale. It can be thought of as a spatial analog
to the temporal frequency, and is often called spatial frequency. It is often
defined as the number of wavelengths per unit distance, or in terms of
wavelength,
λ: k = 1 λ
 TUNING FORK: A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-
pronged fork with the prongs (tines) formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic
metal (usually steel). It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set
vibrating by striking it against a surface or with an object, and emits a pure
musical tone afterwaiting a moment to allow some high overtones to die out.
The pitch that a particular tuning fork generates depends on the length and
mass of the two prongs. It is frequently used as a standard of pitch to tune
musical instruments.

 NODE: A node is a point along a standing wave where the wave has
minimum amplitude. For instance, in a vibrating guitar string, the ends of the
string are nodes. By changing the position of the endnode through frets, the
guitarist changes

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 the effective length of the vibrating string and thereby the note played. In
general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a
vertex).

 ANTI NODE: The opposite of a node is ananti-node, a point where the

amplitude of the standing wave is a maximum. These occur midway between
the nodes.

 PULSE: A pulse is a single disturbance thatmoves through a medium from one

point to the next point.

 PRINCIPLE OF SUPERPOSITION OFWAVES: The principle of

superposition ofwaves states that when two or more propagating waves of
same type are incident on the same point, the total displacement at that
point is equal to
the point wise sum of the displacementsof the individual waves. If a crest
of a wave meets a crest of another wave of the same frequency at the
same point, then the magnitude of the displacementis the sum of the
individual magnitudes
– this is constructive interference. If a
crest of one wave meets a trough of another wave then the magnitude
of thedisplacements is equal to the differencein the individual
magnitudes – this is known as destructive interference.

Constructive interference Destructive interference

Constructive interference occurs when the phase difference between the waves is a
multiple of 2π, whereas destructive interferenceoccurs when the difference is an odd
multiple ofπ. If the difference between the phases is intermediate between these two
extremes, thenthe magnitude of the displacement of the
summed waves lies between the minimum andmaximum values.

 RESONANCE: Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when a vibrating

system or external force drives another system to oscillate with greater
amplitudeat a specific preferential frequency.

 BEATS: When two (or more) sounds are present having a frequency

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 difference of less than about 20 or 30 Hz, you will hear "beats." The frequency
of the beats will beat the difference frequency. If the frequency difference is
larger than about 20 or 30 Hz, a tone is usually perceived rather than distinct
beats. For complex sounds, beats can arise from any of the partials of the
sounds.
 STATIONARY WAVES: A standing wave
– also known as a stationary wave – is a wave in a medium in which each point
on the axis of the wave has an associated constant amplitude. The locations at
which the amplitude is minimum are called nodes,and the locations where the
amplitude is maximum are called antinodes

 FREE ELECTRON THEORY: The freeelectron model is a simple model

for the behavior of valence electrons in a crystal structure of a metallic
solid.

 BOHR’S THEORY OF ATOMIC STRUCTURE: A theory of

atomicstructure that explains the
spectrum of hydrogen atoms. It assumesthat the electron orbiting around
the nucleus can exist only in certain energy
states, a jump from one state to anotherbeing accompanied by the emission or
absorption of a quantum of radiation.

 FERROMAGNETIC SUBSTANCE: Those substances which when placed

in a magnetic field are strongly magnetized in the direction of the applied
field are calledferromagnetic substance. For example iron, nickel, cobalt etc.

 TESLA: The tesla (symbol T) is the SI derived unit used to measure magnetic
fields. Tesla can be measured in different ways; for example, one tesla is equal
to oneweber per square meter.

 FARADAY: The Faraday constant represents the amount of electric

chargecarried by one mole, or Avogadro's number, of electrons. It is an
important constant in chemistry, physics, and

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 electronics and is commonly symbolized by the italic uppercase letter F. It is
expressedin coulombs per mole (C/mol).

 FARADAY LAW: Any change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire

will cause a voltage (emf) to be "induced" in thecoil. No matter how the change
is produced, the voltage will be generated. The change could be produced by
changing the magnetic field strength, moving a magnet toward or away from
the coil, moving the coil into or out of the magnetic field, rotating the coil
relative to the magnet, etc.

 INSULATOR: A substance that resistselectricity.

 SEMI-CONDUCTOR: A solid substance thathas conductivity between that

of an insulator
and that of most metals, either due to theaddition of an impurity or
because of temperature effects. Devices made
of semiconductors, notably silicon, are essentialcomponents of most electronic
circuits.

 HALF LIFE: Half-life (t1⁄2) is the amount of time required for the amount of
something to fall to half its initial value. The term is very commonly used in
nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive
decay, but it is also used more generally for discussing any type of exponential
decay.

 LEPTONS: A subatomic particle, such as an electron, muon, or neutrino,

that doesnot take part in the strong interaction.
 POSITRON: Positron, also called positiveelectron, positively charged
subatomic particle having the same mass and magnitude of charge as the
electron and constituting the antiparticle of a negative electron.

 DEUTERON: Deuteron, nucleus of deuterium (heavy hydrogen) that consists

of one proton and one neutron. Deuteronsare formed chiefly by ionizing
deuterium (stripping the single electron away from the atom) and are used as
projectiles to produce nuclear reactions after accumulating high energies in
particle accelerators. A deuteron also results from the capture of a slow
neutron by a proton,accompanied by the emission of a gamma photon.

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  MESON: Meson, any member of a family of subatomic particles composed of a
quarkand an antiquark. Mesons are sensitive to the strong force, the
fundamental interaction that binds the components of the nucleus by
governing the behaviour of their constituent quarks.

 BARYON: Baryon, any member of one of two classes of hadrons (particles

built fromquarks and thus experiencing the strong nuclear force). Baryons are
heavy subatomic particles that are made up of three quarks. Both protons and
neutrons, as well as other particles, are baryons. (Theother class of harmonic
particle is built from a quark and an antiquark and is called a meson.)

 QUARK: Quark, any member of a group ofelementary subatomic particles that

interact by means of the strong force and are believed to be among the
fundamentalconstituents of matter. Quarks associate with one another via the
strong force to make up protons and neutrons, in much the same way that the
latter particles combine in various proportions to make upatomic nuclei. There
are six types, or flavours, of quarks that differ from one another in their mass
and charge characteristics. These six quark flavours can be grouped in three
pairs: up and down, charm and strange, and top and bottom.

 ANTIQUARK: The baryons and mesons are complex subatomic particles built
frommore-elementary objects, the quarks. Six types of quark, together with
their corresponding antiquarks, are necessary toaccount for all the known
hadrons. The six
varieties, or “flavours,” of quark have acquired the names up, down,
charm,strange, top, and bottom.

 SOLUBILITY: Degree to which a substance dissolves in a solvent to make a

solution (usually expressed as grams of solute per litre of solvent). Solubility of
onefluid (liquid or gas) in another may be complete (totally miscible; e.g.,
methanol and water) or partial (oil and water dissolveonly slightly). In general,
“like dissolves
like” (e.g., aromatic hydrocarbons dissolvein each other but not in water).
Some separation methods (absorption, extraction) rely on differences in
solubility,expressed as the distribution coefficient (ratio of a material’s
solubilities in two solvents). Generally, solubilities of solids inliquids increase
with temperature and those of gases decrease with temperature and increase
with pressure. A solution in which no more solute can be dissolved at agiven
temperature and pressure is said to be saturated.

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