PHYSICS DICTIONARY

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Ordinate

 The Cartesian coordinate obtained by measuring parallel to the y-axis.


Origin

 The point of intersection of coordinate axes as in Cartesian coordinate system


Orthogonal

Having a set of mutually perpendicular axes, meeting at right angles having perpendicular slopes or tangents at the point of intersection.


Oscillation

Type of motion in which object moves about a mean position i.e. fixed point.


Oscillator (Electric)

 Electronic circuit which converts the dc power supply voltage to an output waveform of some frequency. The oscillator circuit is used to generate various waveforms.

 

Osmosis

Diffusion of fluid through a semi permeable membrane from a solution with a low solute concentration to a solution with a higher solute concentration until there is an equal concentration of fluid on both sides of the membrane.

                                                (or)

A process of diffusion of a solvent (such as water) through semi- permeable membrane, which will transmit the solvent but impede most dissolved substances. The normal flow of solvent is from the dilute solution to the concentrated solution.


Ostwald’s Second Law of Thermodynamics

 “Perpetual machine of second kind is impossible”.

 

Outgassing Constant

Rate at which gas appears to emanate from unit area of surface, and is usually measured in units of Torr.liter.sec-1.cm-2.


Outgassing

 The emanation of gases from surface of material resulting from desorption.


Oxidation

 The removal of one or more electrons from an atom, ion or molecule.


Ozone

Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen containing three oxygen atoms. The chemical formula for ozone is O3. Ozone, the first allotrope of any chemical element to be recognized, was proposed as a distinct chemical substance by Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1840, who named it after the Greek verb ozein ("to smell"), from the peculiar odor in lightning storms. According to experimental evidence from microwave spectroscopy, Ozone is a bent molecule, with C2v  symmetry (similar to the water molecule).


Ozone Layer Depletion

The ozone layer is located between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and contains 90% of all stratospheric ozone. Under normal conditions, stratospheric Ozone is formed by a photochemical reaction between oxygen molecules, oxygen atoms and solar radiation. The ozone layer is essential to life on earth, as it absorbs harmful ultraviolet-B radiation from the sun. In recent years the thickness of this layer has been decreasing, leading in extreme cases to holes in the layer. Measurements carried out in the Antarctic have shown that at certain times, more than 95% of the ozone concentrations found at altitudes of between 15 and 20 km and more than 50% of total ozone are destroyed, with reductions being most pronounced during winter and in early spring. Natural phenomena, such as sun-spots and stratospheric winds, also decrease stratospheric ozone levels, but typically not by more than 1-2%. The main cause of ozone layer depletion is the increased stratospheric concentration of chlorine from industrially produced Chloro Fluoro Carbons, Halons and selected solvents.


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