For AFNS Basic Physics Concepts

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 is
not 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 resistance is equal
to E/R amperes. Also, in a DC circuit, if E volts
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 can
be 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 to
 the weight of the displaced fluid. e.g, ships sails
on 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 observer
moving relative to its source.

• Pascal’s law: According to the Pascal’s law “If

gravity 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 equally to 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.

• Density: A material's density is defined as its

mass per unit volume. It is, essentially, a
measurement of how tightly matter is
crammed together. 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 a

change 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 compared
to 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) is

an experimental gas law which describes how
the pressure of a gas tends to decrease as the
volume of a gas increases. A modern statement
of 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 remain
unchanged within a closed system.
 BRANCHES OF PHYSICS

• MECHANICS: The branch of applied

mathematics dealing with motion and forces
producing motion.

• HEAT: Heat is the form of energy that is

transferred between two substances at
different temperatures. The direction of energy
flow 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 the average
kinetic energy per molecule of a substance.
Temperature is measured in degrees on the
Celsius (C) or Fahrenheit (F) scale, or in kelvins
(K).

• THERMODYNAMICS: Thermodynamics is
the study of heat and its transformation to
mechanical energy.

• SOUND: Vibrations that travel through the air

or 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 interactions
with 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 electromagnetic
force.

• ATOMIC PHYSICS: Atomic physics is the field

of 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 processes
by 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 the term
atom includes ions.

• 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 physics
is nuclear power generation, but the research
has led to applications in many fields, including
nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance
imaging, nuclear weapons, ion implantation in
materials engineering, and radiocarbon dating
in geology and archaeology.

• PLASMA PHYSICS: 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. Plasma can be
created by heating a gas or subjecting it to a
 strong electromagnetic field applied with a laser
or 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 the
use of quantitative methods for their analysis.
The term geophysics sometimes refers only to
the geological applications: Earth's shape; its
gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal
structure and composition; its dynamics and
their surface expression in plate tectonics, the
generation of magmas, volcanism and rock
formation.
• MASS: Mass (symbolized m) is a dimensionless
quantity representing the amount of matter in a
particle or object. The standard unit of mass in
the International System (SI) is the kilogram
(kg).

• SOLID: A solid is a sample of matter that

retains 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 is held
and acquires a uniform density.
• POTENTIAL ENERGY: In physics, potential
energy is the energy that an object has due to
its position in a force field.

• KINETIC ENERGY: In physics, the kinetic

energy of an object is the energy that it
possesses due to its motion.

MOTION AND ITS TYPES

• MOTION (physics): In physics, motion is

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
body and 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 remains
at 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 mass
m 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 the
first body.
LINEAR MOTION: Linear motion is a
motion along a straight line, and can
therefore be described mathematically
using only one spatial dimension. The linear
motion 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 (a
point-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 along a
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 an object.
Mathematically, torque is defined as 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 as
a 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 its
surroundings does not change with time
it is said to be "at rest".
• VIBRATION: Vibration is a mechanical
phenomenon whereby oscillations occur
about an equilibrium point.
 FREQUENCY: Frequency is the number of
occurrences 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 location
vector or radius vector.
 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 covered
to reach the final position is irrelevant. It
can simply be defined as the length of
the shortest path between the final point
and 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 any and 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

threedimensional space enclosed by some
closed boundary, for example, the space
that a substance (solid, liquid, gas, or
 plasma) or shape occupies or contains.
Volume is often quantified numerically
using the SI derived unit, the cubic
meter.

• FORCE: A force is any interaction that,

when unopposed, will change the motion
of 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 measured in the SI
unit of newton’s and represented by the
symbol F.
• PRESSURE: Pressure is the force applied
perpendicular to the surface of an object
per unit area over which that force is
distributed.

• CHARGE: A charge may refer to one of

many different quantities, such as the
electric charge in electromagnetism.

• VERNIER CALLIPER: A vernier scale is a

device that lets the user measure more
precisely than could be done unaided when
reading 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 product

of 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 the
truck 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 a
magnitude. 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 types
of friction:

• DRY FRICTION Resists relative lateral

motion of two solid surfaces in contact. Dry
friction 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 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 is

the 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 calculations
or measurements are conducted in
noninertial reference frames.

• COLLISION: The meeting of particles or

of bodies in which each exerts a force upon
the other, causing the exchange of energy
or momentum.

• TENSION: The state of being stretched or

strained.

• STRESS: The physical pressure, pull, or

other 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 of
the two objects after the collision. That is,
the momentum lost by object 1 is equal to
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 stick

where the fulcrum is between the weight
and the energy moving the weight (your
hands, for example). Some common
firstclass 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 the
stick, 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 stick
where 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. With
a 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 toward the
center of the earth.
 EQUILIBRIUM: A state of rest or balance
due 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 atmosphere
but excludes the moon.
M = (5.9722±0.0006)×1024 kg

• ENERGY: The ability to do work. It is a

scalar quantity.

• WORK: Work is done whenever a force

results in a displacement. The component
 of the force parallel to the displacement is
what matters is the scalar.

MATTER: The substance or substances

of which 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 applied
on 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 common
being Celsius (denoted °C; formerly called
centigrade), Fahrenheit (denoted °F), and,
especially in science, Kelvin (denoted
K).

HEAT: Heat is energy as it spontaneously

passes 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 from
solid to liquid at atmospheric pressure.
• BOILING POINT: The boiling point of a
substance is the temperature at which the
vapor pressure of the liquid equals the
pressure surrounding the liquid and the
liquid changes into a vapor.

• FREEZING POINT: When considered as

the temperature of the reverse change
from liquid to solid, it is referred to as the
freezing 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
that is not saturated with the evaporating
substance. The other type of vaporization is
boiling, 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 phase
below the melting point, as
commonly observed with ice at or
below freezing or moth crystals
(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 the
distance 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 with
the metric system, this prefix denotes a
factor of 10-9 or 0.000000001. It is
frequently encountered in science
and electronics for prefixing units of
time and length.
Examples:
One nanometer is about the length that a
fingernail 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, Earth would scale to
about one meter (3.3 feet) wide.

• MOTION: Motion is a change in position of

an 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 potential
difference (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 of
Units (SI). The unit is defined as joule per
second and can be used to express the rate
of energy conversion or transfer with
respect 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 product
of 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 surface
of 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
scientifically distinct quantities, the terms
are often confused with each other in
everyday use.

• NEWTON’S LAW OF GRAVITATION:

Newton's law of universal gravitation states
that any two bodies in the universe attract
each other with a force that is directly
proportional to the product of their masses
 and 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: Elastic
energy is the potential mechanical energy
stored in the
configuration of a material or physical
system as work is performed to distort its
volume or shape.[citation needed] Elastic
energy occurs when objects are
compressed and stretched, or generally
deformed in any manner.

• POWER: The rate at which work is

performed or energy is converted:-
a. Electric power, the rate at which
electrical energy is transferred by a circuit.
b. Horsepower, a unit of measurement
for a mechanical engine's power output
over time, mostly used in non-metric
countries such as the United States.
•

EINSTEIN’S MASS-ENERGY
EQUATION: Relationship between mass
(m) and energy (E) in the special theory of
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 that

measures atmospheric pressure.

• BUOYANT FORCE: The law that a body

immersed 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 called
Archimedes' principle.
•
CONDENSATION: The result of being
made more compact or dense. The act or
process 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 waves
or particles through space or through a
material medium. This includes:-
A. Electro-magnetic radiation such
as radio waves, visible light, xrays, and
gamma radiation
(γ).
B. Particle radiation such as alpha
radiation (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 transmission
medium)
• WAVES: Waves are oscillations
accompanied by a transfer of energy that
travel through space or mass.

• THEORY OF RELATIVITY: A theory,

formulated essentially by Albert Einstein
That all motion must be defined relative to
a 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 any
inertial 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 of
electromagnetic radiation, as light, of
sufficiently high frequency by a surface,
usually metallic, induces the emission of
electrons 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 or
combination 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 the
reflection of the object is enlarged and
viewed.

• SPECTROSCOPE: An optical device for

producing and observing a spectrum of
light 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
small to be seen distinctly and in detail
by the unaided eye.

• RADIO TELESCOPE: A system consisting

of an antenna, either parabolic or
dipolar, used to gather radio waves
emitted by celestial sources and bring
them to a receiver placed in the focus.

• RETARDATION: Retardation is the act or

result of delaying; the extent to which
anything is retarded or delayed; that
which retards or delays.

• PROJECTILE: An object fired from a gun

with an explosive propelling charge,
 such as a bullet, shell, rocket, or
grenade. A body projected or impelled
forward, 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 the
resulting wave being equal to the sum
of the amplitudes of the combining
waves.

• DIFFRACTION: The bending of waves,

especially sound and light waves, around
obstacles in their path.

• REFRACTION: The change of direction of

a 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 a
state, 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 ferromagnetic
substance.
• 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 of
wave (mechanical or electromagnetic)
has certain energy. Mechanical waves
can be produced only in media which
possess elasticity and inertia.

• ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES:
Electromagnetic waves are waves
which can travel through the vacuum of
outer space. Mechanical waves, unlike
 electromagnetic waves, require the
presence of a material medium in order
to transport their energy from one
location to another.

• SOUND WAVES: A sound wave is the

pattern of disturbance caused by the
movement of energy traveling through a
medium (such as air, water, or any other
liquid or solid matter) as it propagates
away from the source of the sound. 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
moves farther 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
300 GHz 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 than
those 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 at high speed in certain
radioactive transformations—called
also alpha, alpha ray.
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 letter
beta (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 produce
electrons and positrons. Beta particles are
a type of ionizing radiation.

• GAMMA RAYS: Gamma radiation

(sometimes called gamma ray),
denoted by the lower-case Greek letter
 gamma (γ), is extremely high-frequency
electromagnetic radiation and
therefore consists of highenergy
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 in
up 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 compression
waves, 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 wave
propagates. 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 electromagnetic
wave
concave lens is also symmetrical across both its
horizontal and vertical axis.

• TIME PERIOD: A period T is the time

needed for one complete cycle of vibration
to 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 a
measure 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
=1λ

• TUNING FORK: A tuning fork is an

acoustic resonator in the form of a
twopronged 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 after
waiting 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 end
node through frets, the guitarist changes
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 an

anti-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 that
moves through a medium from one point to
the next point.

• PRINCIPLE OF SUPERPOSITION OF
WAVES: The principle of superposition of
waves 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 displacements
of 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 displacement
is 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 the
displacements is equal to the difference
 in 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 interference
occurs when the difference is an odd multiple of
π. If the difference between the phases is
intermediate between these two extremes, then
the magnitude of the displacement of the
summed waves lies between the minimum and
maximum values.

• RESONANCE: Resonance is a
phenomenon that occurs when a vibrating
 system or external force drives another
system to oscillate with greater amplitude
at a specific preferential frequency.

• BEATS: When two (or more) sounds are

present having a frequency difference of
less than about 20 or 30 Hz, you will hear
"beats." The frequency of the beats will be
at 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 free

electron 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 atomic
structure that explains the spectrum of
hydrogen atoms. It assumes that the
electron orbiting around the nucleus can
exist only in certain energy states, a jump
from one state to another being
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 called
ferromagnetic 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 one
weber per square meter.

• FARADAY: The Faraday constant

represents the amount of electric charge
carried by one mole, or Avogadro's number,
of electrons. It is an important constant in
chemistry, physics, and electronics and is
commonly symbolized by the italic
uppercase letter F. It is expressed in
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
the coil. 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 resists

electricity.

• SEMI-CONDUCTOR: A solid substance that

has conductivity between that of an insulator
 and that of most metals, either due to the
addition of an impurity or because of
temperature effects. Devices made of
semiconductors, notably silicon, are essential
components 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 does
not take part in the strong interaction.

• POSITRON: Positron, also called positive

electron, 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. Deuterons
are 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.
• MESON: Meson, any member of a family
of subatomic particles composed of a quark
and 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 from
quarks 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. (The
other class of harmonic particle is built
from a quark and an antiquark and is called
a meson.)
• QUARK: Quark, any member of a group of
elementary subatomic particles that
interact by means of the strong force and
are believed to be among the fundamental
constituents 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 up
atomic 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 from
more-elementary objects, the quarks. Six
 types of quark, together with their
corresponding antiquarks, are necessary to
account 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 one
fluid (liquid or gas) in another may be
complete (totally miscible; e.g., methanol
and water) or partial (oil and water dissolve
only slightly). In general, “like dissolves like”
(e.g., aromatic hydrocarbons dissolve in
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 in
liquids 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 a
given temperature and pressure is said to
be saturated.