PHYSICS DICTIONARY

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Alternating Current

Current in which charge periodically reverses and average value is zero. It usually implies a sinusoidal variation of current and voltage.


Altitude

The height of an object with reference to sea level or ground level is called as altitude.


Ammeter

Device used to measure current. It is designed with a small resistance put in parallel to the galvanometer. It is generally connected in series with in a circuit, in which electric resistance is to be measured.


Amorphous

Materials that do not crystallize, i.e. in which, long range atomic order is absent, are referred to as amorphous.         


Ampere

It is the constant current which if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length and of negligible cross-section and placed one meter apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 x 10-7 N/M of length.  


Amperes Law

A law of electromagnetism which expresses contribution of a current element of length dl to the magnetic induction ‘B’ at a point near the current carrying element. The law was derived by A M Ampere. Whenever an electric charge is in motion, there is magnetic field associated with that motion. The flow of charges through a conductor sets up magnetic field in the surrounding region. Any current may be considered to be broken up into infitesimal elements of length dl and each such element contributes to magnetic induction at every point in neighborhood. The contribution dB of the element is found to depend upon current I, the length dl of element, distance ‘r’ of point ‘p’ from current element, and angle ‘Ѳ’ between current element and line joining point ‘p’.

              dB=  (KldIsinѲ/r2);  K = µo/4Π = 10-7 Weber/Ampere-meter  


Amplifier

Device used for increasing the strength of a weak signal.


Amplitude Modulation

The process of changing the amplitude of high frequency carrier wave in accordance with intensity of signal without changing frequency, is called amplitude modulation.


Amplitude

The maximum displacement of a vibrating particle in simple harmonic motion is called as amplitude. 


Analog

Analog is defined as a mechanism in which data is represented by continuously variable physical quantities.


Anelasticity

In some engineering materials, there also exists time dependent elastic strain component. That is elastic deformation will continue even after stress application and upon load release, some finite time is required for complete recovery. This time dependant elastic behavior is known as anelasticity.    ther particles and with electric and magnetic fi


Anemometer

The term is derived from Greek word “anemos”, meaning wind. It is device used for measuring speed of air flow in wind tunnels, and in other gas flow applications.


Angle

The amount of space between two straight lines having a common end point usually measured in degrees.


Angle of Incidence

Angle between incidence ray and normal to the surface is called angle of incidence.


Angle of Minimum Deviation

When the angle of incidence in a prism is increased, the value of angle of deviation first decreases and then increases. The minimum value of deviation is called the angle of deviation.


Angle of Reflection

It is the angle between reflected ray and normal to the surface, from which light is reflected.


Angle of Refraction

It is the angle between refracted ray and the surface from which light is refracted.

PHYSICS DICTIONARY

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Adiabatic Process

It is a thermodynamic process in which there is change in temperature, no heat exchange with surroundings & Boyle’s law doesn’t hold good. Adiabatic relation between P, V & T are as follows: 

TVγ-1 = const; PVγ = const; P 1-γT γ= const; γ = Cp/Cv


Admittance

It is the term coined by Oliver Heaviside. It is inverse of impedance. In fact, it is vector sum of Conductance and Susceptance. It determines with how much ease an alternating current flows through a complex circuit.


Adsorbate

The gas or liquid that is accumulated over the surface of a liquid or solid is referred to as adsorbate.


Adsorbent

The solid or liquid on whose surface, molecules of other substance are adsorbed.  


Adsorption

It is the process of attracting foreign atoms or molecules on to the host liquid or solid substance. Any surface of a solid or liquid exhibit residual forces of attraction normal to surface; hence molecules or atoms impinging on surface are adsorbed.


Aerodynamics

It is branch of fluid dynamics which deals with study of forces and the resulting motion of objects, when air interacts with them.


Aerosol

It is a colloidal suspension of solid or liquid particles in a gas; smoke or fog. Usually aerosol is sealed in a metal container under pressure with an inert gas or other activating agent and released as spray or through nozzle.


After Glow

See Phosphorescence. 


Air Break Down

It is dielectric breakdown of air when intense electric field is applied between two electrodes. For instance, dielectric breakdown strength of dry air at STP between spherical electrodes is 33KV/cm.


Air

Mixture of gases with traces of water vapor, etc which makes up earth’s atmosphere. Composition is 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.03% CO2, 0.00005% Hydrogen, 0.933% Argon, 0.0018% Neon, 0.0005 Helium, 0.0001 Krypton etc.  


Albedo

The fraction of the total light incident on a reflecting surface, especially a celestial body, which is reflected back in all directions, is called as Albedo.


Algorithm

A finite set of unambiguous instructions performed in a prescribed sequence to achieve a goal, especially a mathematical rule or procedure used to compute a desired result. Algorithms are basis for most computer programming.


Allobar

It is a form of an element differing in isotopic composition from naturally occurring form. 


Allotropy

It is the property of substance to exist in two or more different crystal structures.


Alloy

A metallic substance that is composed of two or more elements is called as alloy.


Alpha Iron

Name used in metallurgy for iron or solid solution with iron as main continent with a BCC (Body centered cubic) structure.


Alpha Particle Spectrum

The line spectrum formed due to emission of alpha rays from isotopes due to nuclear states transition.


Alpha Particle

Positively charged particle identical to Helium nucleus (i.e. two protons and two neutrons) emitted from radioactive substance having heavy nuclei. They are typically emitted due to transition in energy states of parent nucleus to form daughter nucleus.

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Acceptor

Terminology used in semiconductor physics which refers to the doping atom of group-III element of periodic table which are deficient of electrons and hence leads to holes when doped appropriately. The semiconductor having holes as majority charge carriers is called P-Type semi conductor formed due to addition of acceptors.


Accuracy

The degree of closeness of measurement value of a quantity to the expected value is called accuracy. In other words, the extent to which a given measurement agrees with the standard value for that measurement. 


Achromatic Combination of Lenses

A lens combination, for which the image of an object illuminated with white light is distinctly obtained at the same place for all colors of light, is said to be an achromatic combination of lenses.


Achromatic Lens

A lens combination, for which the image of an object illuminated with white light is distinctly obtained at same place for all colors of light, is said to be an achromatic combination of lenses.


Achromatic Prism

A Prism composed usually of two prisms which have unequal dispersive powers. They are combined in such a fashion that a ray of light passed through them is refracted or bent into a new position, but it is free from color.


Acoustic Impedance

It is the ratio of acoustic pressure to acoustic volume flow. Acoustic impedance varies strongly when the frequency of sound is changed. The acoustic impedance at a particular frequency indicates how much sound pressure is generated by air molecules vibration at that frequency.


Acoustics

The branch of physics that deals with the process of generation, reception and propagation of sound.


Actinides

Any of the series of 15 metallic elements from Actinium (atomic number=89) to Lawrencium (atomic no. 103) in the periodic table. They are all radioactive. The heavier elements are extremely unstable and not of naturally occurring.


Actinium Series

Set of unstable heavy nuclei which decay radioactively beginning with Actino-Uranium, isotope of Uranium U-235 and end with Actinium D, constituting non radioactive isotope Lead, of mass number 207. 


Actinometer

It is radiometric instrument used for measuring heating capability of radiation. They are used chiefly for meteorological measurement of terrestrial and solar radiation. 


Activator

The name assigned to the impurity atoms occurring in relatively small concentrations in host material or a small stoichometric excess of host material, which leads host material to exhibit phenomenon of Luminescence.


Active Device

It is a device that requires a source of energy for its operation and has an output that is a function of present and past input signals. Active devices are components that are capable of controlling voltages or currents and create switching action in the circuit.


Activity

The number of nuclei of a given radioactive sample disintegrating per second is referred to as activity of radioactive substance.


Acute Angle

Angle with a measure between 0o & 90o.


Adhesion

It is the force of attraction between molecules of different substances. 


Adiabatic Demagnetization

It is the process of cooling certain materials to extremely low temperatures down to milli Kelvin. The process was first proposed by chemists Peter Debye (1926) and William Francis Giauque. The process capitalizes on paramagnetic properties of some materials (usually in gaseous form) to reduce their temperatures to very low range. The process involves reducing temperature of sample (usually gas) by keeping in contact with cold reservoir; with magnetic field induced in it till thermal equilibrium is attained. After thermal equilibrium is attained, magnetic field intensity is increased thus reducing entropy due to orderly alignment of particles. After the isolation of sample from reservoir, the magnetic field is reduced which results in still further reduction of temperature by many fold. 

Electrical Conductivity of Liquids

1) Electrical Conductivity is an intrinsic property of any given material. 

2) Volta made first electric cell in 1800 using Zinc and Copper plates dipped in Sulphuric acid. The cell he made is called a Volta cell in his honour. The word "voltage" is also derived from his name.

3) Process of coating one metal onto other by the process of electrolysis is called as "electroplating".

4) Uses of electroplating:

    a) To protect metals from corrosion by atmospheric air/moisture air/chemical environment.

    b) To increase conductivity.

    c) Ornaments & decoration items.

 

Kirchoff's Law for black body

This law states that at a given temperature, the ratio of emission power to the absorption power for a given wavelength is same for all bodies and is equal to the emissive power of a black body at the same temperature.

Energy emitted per square meter is eƛdƛ.
Energy absorbed per unit area is QƛdQ.

eƛ/aƛ = ∂Qƛ /∂ƛ = constant

where eƛ is emission power ; aƛ is absorptive power
∂Qƛ is energy falling on unit area per second within same wavelength range & temperature.
 
(∂Qƛ /∂ƛ) depends only on temperature and for a given temperature it is constant.

For a perfectly black body, aƛ = 1

Note: Kirchoffs law is true only for temperature radiation.

Pyrometers - important points for exams

1. They are instruments used for measuring high temperatures.

2. The Pyrometers based on the principles of radiation are termed as Radiation Pyrometers.

3. The fact that the radiation emitted by a black body depends only upon its temperature provides radiation methods for measuring high temperatures. 

4. There are two types of Radiation Pyrometers

i) Total Radiation Pyrometers
The instruments that measure total radiation emitted by the body under test are called as total Radiation Pyrometers.
The temperature is determined by making use of Stefans law.

ii) Optical or Spectral Pyrometers
The optical pyrometers compare the intensity of radiation of a certain wave length emitted by the body with that of radiation of same wavelength emitted by a standard body at known temperature. The temperature of the body obtained by applying Weins displacement law or Planck's law. 

5. Advantages
a) They can be used to measure any high temperatures even when the hot bodies inaccessible.
b)They need not be put in contact with the hot body not raised to the temperature of the body.
c) There is no difficulty in extrapolation because radiation laws are valid at all temperatures.  

6. Disadvantages
a) Their range roughly begins at 600 degC and so temperatures below this limit cannot be measured.
b) The temperature obtained by these Pyrometers is always less than the actual temperature of source because they use radiation laws which are only true for black bodies. So the measures are accurate for black bodies only.

7. Ferry's total Radiation Pyrometer

The distance of pyrometer from hot body should be such that image formed by concave mirror is larger than opening of mirrors.

Calculation of temperatures

Let T & T0 be the absolute temperatures of the hot body and that of pyrometer case.

Now, according to Stefans Boltzmans law, the millivolt meter deflection 𝛳 will be proportional to T⁴-T0⁴.

As T0 is very small compared to T, 𝛳 ∝ T⁴.

Note: In practice it is found that power lies between 3.8 and 4.2 due to stray reflections from the walls etc.

𝛳 ∝ T^K 

Log𝛳 = K log T

The graph drawn between log𝛳 & logT comes out to be a straight line calibration graph.
To measure a high temperature a rotating sector is used which allows only radiation equal to 𝛳/360 to enter pyrometer.

If a pyrometer measure a temperature T1, then the actual temperature T2 of the body is given by
 T1⁴/T2⁴ = 𝛳/360;   T2 = T1 (360/𝛳)

8. Disappearing filament Optical Pyrometer

First Morse made this device later Holborn and Kurlbaum improved it.

The current through filament is adjusted in such a way that filament just disappears against background. Current in filament is recorded with help of ammeter. Since both filament & image are equally bright, they must be emitting equal amounts of energy per unit area per second and hence, they must be at same temperature.

The temperature of filament 'T' (or unknown temperature of hot body) can be calculated from the formula 

I = a+bT+CT2, where I is strength of current flowing through the circuit and a,b,c are constants

The value of these constants can be determined by calibrating the instrument against known temperatures.

Note: The instrument is suitable for measuring temperatures from 600 to 1500 degC. The range can be raised to 2700 degC by using a rotating sector.