PHYSICS DICTIONARY

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Specific Gravity

The relative density of a solid or liquid, usually when measured at a temperature of 20 oC, compared with maximum density of water (at 4o C) or of a gas to an equal volume of air or Hydrogen under prescribed conditions of temperature and pressure.   

Specific Gravity of Fluid

 It is the ratio of weight of unit volume of fluid to unit volume of an equal volume of standard fluid, taken as water at 4 oC.

Specific Heat at Constant Pressure

Amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 mole of gas by 1oC at constant pressure.

Specific Heat at Constant Volume

Amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 mole of gas by 1oC at constant volume.

Specific Heat

Amount of heat required to raise the temperature of unit mass of material through one Kelvin.

C = Q/ M∆T; Q is heat required to raise temperature of mass M; and ∆T is raise in temperature. 

Specific Ionization

Specific ionization is that number of ion pairs produced per centimeter of travel of charged particle through matter. Specific ionization is dependent on the mass, charge, energy of the particle, and the electron density of matter. The greater the mass of a particle, the more interactions it produces in a given distance.

Specific Latent Heat

 The amount of heat required to change the state of unit mass of a substance without any change in temperature.   

Specific Latent Heat of Fusion

The quantity of heat necessary to convert unit mass of a solid substance into a liquid at constant temperature is called specific heat of melting or fusion. It is measured in JKg-1 in MKS or Calgm-1 in CGS and denoted by L.

Specific Latent Heat of Vaporization

The quantity of heat necessary to evaporate unit mass of a liquid without any change in its temperature is known as specific heat of vaporization.

Specific Strength

The ratio of tensile strength to specific gravity for a material.

Specific Volume

Specific volume represents the space occupied by a unit weight of dry air, in ft3/lb, and is equal to 1/air density.

Spectral Emissive Power

The amount of radiant energy emitted in a range of unit wavelength at a wavelength ‘λ’ per second per unit area of a surface is called spectral emissive power at wavelength ‘λ’ of that surface.

Spectral Energy Density

The radiant energy enclosed per unit volume in a unit wavelength range for a particular wavelength is called spectral energy density.

Spectral Line

An isolated bright or dark line in a spectrograph produced by emission or absorption of light of a single wavelength is called as spectral line. A spectral line is like a fingerprint that can be used to identify the atoms, elements or molecules present in a star, galaxy or cloud of interstellar gas.

Spectral Resolution

 Ability of optical system to distinguish spectral lines corresponding to two very close wavelengths of a light source in its spectrum is called spectral resolution.

Spectral Series Series of lines in the spectrum of light emitted by excited atoms of an element. Each line being related to the others in the series by a simple numerical equation and identified with a particular energy level of an atom  of  the element.

Spectrometer

The basic function of a spectrometer is to take in light, break it into its spectral components, digitize the signal as a function of wavelength, and read it out and display it through a computer. The first step in this process is to direct light through a fiber optic cable into the spectrometer through a narrow aperture known as an entrance slit. The slit splits the light as it enters the spectrometer. In most spectrometers, the divergent light is then collimated by a concave mirror and directed onto a grating. The grating then disperses the spectral components of the light at slightly varying angles, which is then focused by a second concave mirror and imaged onto the detector. Once the light is imaged onto the detector the photons are then converted into electrons which are digitized and readout through a USB (or serial port) to a computer. The software then interpolates the signal based on the number of pixels in the detector and the linear dispersion of the diffraction grating to create a calibration that enables the data to be plotted as a function of wavelength over the given spectral range. 

Spectrophotometer

A spectrophotometer is employed to measure the amount of light that a sample absorbs. The instrument operates by passing a beam of light through a sample and measuring the intensity of light reaching a detector. According to Beer's law, the amount of light absorbed by a medium is proportional to the concentration of the absorbing material. In general, it is an instrument for producing or recording a spectrum and measuring the photometric intensity of each wavelength present.  

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