PHYSICS DICTIONARY

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Homogenous System

A physical system in which components do not differ from one another in composition or properties and are not separated from one another by surfaces of separation. All the physical characteristics of a homogenous system are either identical in all its components or change continuously from point to point.


Hooke’s Law

As per this law, for most metals that are stressed in tension and at relatively low levels, stress & strain are proportional to each other.

(or)

Within the elastic limit, stress is directly proportional to strain. The proportionality constant is known as modulus of elasticity or coefficient of elasticity of the body.


Hoppers

They are materials in which hopping conduction takes place. They are also called electron transfer materials.


Horse Power

It is unit of power. A horse transfers 750J of energy per second. This is a power output of 750W. One horse power is 750W.      


Hubble Constant

In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced that almost all galaxies appeared to be moving away from us. This phenomenon was observed as red shift of a galaxies spectrum. This red shift appeared to have a larger displacement for faint, presumably for such galaxies. Hence the farther a galaxy, the faster it is receding from earth. Hubble constant ‘H’ is given by H=v/d;  ‘v’ is galaxies radial outward velocity; ‘d‘ is galaxies distance from earth.

       Hubble constant is one of the most important numbers in cosmology because it may be used to estimate the size and age of the universe. It indicates the rate at which the universe is expanding.


Hue

The attribute of color by virtue of which it is discernible as red, green etc and which is dependent on its dominant wave length and independent of intensity or lightness.


Hum

To emit continuous low driving sound like that of speech sound when prolonged.


Humidity

Amount of water vapor in air is called as humidity.


Humphrey Series

Spectrum of wavelength formed due to jumping of electrons from higher orbits to sixth orbit. The spectrum falls in far infra red region.


Hund’s Rule

Hund’s rule of maximum multiplicity describes the order in which electrons fill sub shells. Every orbital in a sub shell is singly occupied with one electron before any one orbital is occupied. All electrons in singly occupied orbital have same spin.


Huygens Eye Piece

Arrangement of lenses in which first Plano convex lens of focal length three times the focal length of second plano convex lens and the separation between the two lenses is two times the focal length of second lens.


Huygens Principle

Every point on a propagating wave front serves as source of spherical secondary wavelets, such that wave front at some later time is re-envelope of these wavelets. If the propagating wave has a frequency ‘ f ’ and is transmitted through the medium at a speed ‘ v ’, then secondary wavelets will have same frequency and speed.


Hybrid Orbitals

See hybridization


Hybridization

The Mixing of orbitals of valence shell of same atom to form new orbitals with same energy and shape. The resulting orbitals are called hybrid orbitals.


Hydraulic Press

Machine which uses Pascal’s theory for industrial purposes where a larger pressure is required for compressing metals in to thin sheets. They are also used to crush or punch the material into a thin sheet.


Hydro-Electricity

Electricity generated by using hydropower. It is the electricity produced through the use of gravitational force of falling water.


Hydro-Carbons

They are simplest organic compounds containing only Carbon and Hydrogen. They can be straight chain, branched chain or cyclic molecule.


Hydrogen Bomb

It is also called as thermo nuclear bomb whose enormous explosive power results from an uncontrolled, self sustaining chain reaction in which isotopes of Hydrogen combine under extremely highly temperatures to form Helium in a process known as ombine under extremely highly temperatures to form hecontrolled , self sustaining chain reaction in wnuclear fusion. The high temperatures are achieved by detonating atomic bomb. The presumable structure is as follows:

At its center is an atomic bomb; surrounding it is a layer of lithium deuterium  around it is a tamper, a thick outer layer , frequently of fissionable material, that holds the contents together in order to obtain a larger explosion. Neutrons from atomic explosions cause lithium to fission into Helium, Tritium and energy. The atomic explosion also supplies temperatures needed for subsequent fusion of Deuterium with Tritium, and of Tritium with Tritium (50,000,000 & 400,000,000 oC) respectively. Enough neutrons are produced in fusion reactions to produce further fission in the core and to initiate fissions in tamper.


Hydrogen Bond

The bond occurs between molecules in which one end is a Hydrogen atom. The Hydrogen atom is covalently bonded to a relatively large atom such as Nitrogen, Oxygen or Fluorine to form a permanent dipole.  


Hydrostatics

Branch of fluid dynamics which studies pressures exerted by fluids at rest.


Hygroscope or Hygrometer

Instrument which indicates the relative humidity or absolute humidity of air.


Hygroscopic

Property of absorbing water vapor in air and retaining it.


Hyper Charge

It is physical quantity which is twice the difference between actual charge and iso-spin component of a particle.


Hypermetropia

It is type of vision defect of eye in which image of nearby object is formed behind the retina. The objects at closer distance seem blurred and clear vision when looking objects in longer distance.


Hyperbola

For two given points, the foci, a hyperbola is locus of points such that the diff between distances to each focus is constant. 


Hyperfine Structure

Interaction of spin orbit coupling splits the atomic levels & gives fine structure. These split levels further get split by J-I coupling and leads to hyperfine structure in spectral lines. The hyperfine levels are due to interaction of nuclear and magnetic moments. 


Hyperons

They come under Baryons which are extremely unstable and heavier particles.


Hypothesis

It is a statement that explains or makes generalizations about a set of facts or principles, usually forming a basis for possible experiences to confirm its viability.


Hysteresis

The irreversible magnetic flux density (B) versus applied magnetic strength (H) behavior found for ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic materials. A closed B-H loop is formed upon field reversal. 

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Helion

Nucleus of a Helium- 3 atom consists of two protons and one neutron bound together with a total binding energy of 7.72 MeV. Helium-3 atom, a stable isotope of Helium with natural abundance of ~0.00014% consists of a nucleus (Helion) and two electrons.


Helmholtz Coil

Device introduced by German scientist Helmholtz. Device consist pair of conducting circular coils each having ‘N’ turns, and carrying a current, separated by a distance equivalent to the radius of circular loops produce a homogenous uniform magnetic field in the mid plane between two circular coils.


Helmoltz Function (or) Helmoltz’s Free Energy Function

It is thermodynamic energy function pertaining to thermodynamic process in which system exchanges heat with surrounding and there by maintains temperature constant.

Mathematically, A = A (T, V, N); A = U-TS


Henry

It is unit of inductance.


Hertz

 It is unit of frequency which is named after German physicist Heinrich Hertz.


Hertzian Wave

An electromagnetic wave produced by oscillations in electrical circuit with frequency in range 3x1010 to about 1.5x105 Hertz. They are named after Heinrich Rudolph Hertz, a German physicist.


Hetero Junction

A PN junction that encompasses two different semi conductors is called as hetero junction. The most distinctive feature of such junctions is that the P and N region have different energy band gaps.


Hexagonal Closely Packed Crystal Structure

Crystal structure having unit cell which has top and bottom faces forming regular hexagon and surround a single atom in the center. Another plane provides three additional atoms.


Higgs Particle or Higgs Boson

It is first theorized in 1964 by British physicist Peter Higgs and others, which is presumed to be basic building blocks of matter to interact. They have been confirmed to exist on 14th march 2013. The discovery of particle appears to confirm existence of Higgs field. The heavier particles interact strongly with Higgs field and light ones interact weakly with this field.


Hilbert Space

The mathematical concept named after David Hilbert generalizes notion of Euclidian space. It is an abstract vector space possessing structure of an inner product that allows length and angle to be measured.


Histogram

A histogram is graphical representation of distribution of data. It is an estimate of probability distribution of continuous variable.  It consists of tabular frequencies shown as adjacent rectangles, erected over discrete intervals, with an area equal to frequency of observations in the interval. The height of rectangle is also equal to frequency density of interval i.e. frequency divided by width of interval. The total area of histogram is equal to no. of data. 


Hole

For semiconductors and insulators, a vacant electron state in the valence bond that behaves as positive charge carrier in an electric field. A hole is not a particle and it doesn’t exist by itself.


Hologram

Consists of record of both amplitude and phase of light wave scattered from object so that it can give 3D view of the object but image cannot be observed directly from hologram because it requires reconstructing.

or

 It is counterpart of photographic negative. It consists of record of both amplitude and phase of light wave scattered from object so that it can give 3D view of the object, but image cannot be observed directly from hologram because it requires reconstructing. 


Holography

Holography dates from 1947, when British (native of Hungary) scientist Dennis Gabor developed the theory of holography while working to improve the resolution of an electron microscope. Gabor coined the term hologram from the Greek words ‘holos’ meaning "whole," and ‘gramma’, meaning "message".

Holography is "lens less photography" in which an image is captured not as an image focused on film, but as an interference pattern at the film. Typically, coherent light from a laser is reflected from an object and combined at the film with light from a reference beam. This recorded interference pattern actually contains much more information that a focused image, and enables the viewer to view a true three-dimensional image which exhibits parallax. That is, the image will change its appearance if you look at it from a different angle, just as if you were looking at a real 3D object.


Holonomic Constraints

Constraints which are expressible in the form of f(r1,r2, …..rn, t) = 0.


Homo Junction

A junction containing only one semiconductor, such as silicon PN junction, is called Homo junction. 

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Hadrons

Kaons, Pions together with Baryons are placed in group of strongly interacting particles called Hadrons.


Half Life

Term used in nuclear physics. It represents the time it takes for a radioactive isotope for decaying its activity to half of its present value.


Half Wave Plate

Plate of uniaxial double refracting crystals such as quartz and calcite with optic axis parallel to their refracting surface, the thickness of which is such that it produces a path difference of λ/2 or a phase difference Π in between ordinary and extra ordinary waves.


Half-Wave Rectifier

Device which conducts current only during the positive half cycles of input ac supply. The negative half cycles of ac supply are suppressed i.e. during negative half cycles, no current is conducted and hence no voltage appears across load. Therefore, current always flows in one direction (DC) through load after every half cycle. 


Hall Effect

When a piece of semiconductor carrying a current is placed in a transverse magnetic field, an electric field is produced inside the conductor in a direction normal to both current and magnetic field.


Hall Mobility

Mobility of charge carriers under Hall Effect defined as product of hall coefficient and conductivity.


Hall Probe

Hall probe is a magnetic field sensor that passes electric current when the sensor is perpendicular to magnetic field. The stranger the magnetic field the more the current is converted to voltage. They are used for proximity switching, positioning etc.


Hamilton’s Principle

If a particle moves from one point to other in time interval t1 t t2, then the actual path it follows is the one for which action assume stationary value.


Hamiltonian Principle

The path actually traversed by a conservative, holonomic dynamical system from time t1 to t2 is one over which the integral of the lagrangian between limits t1 and t2 is stationary i.e., the time integral of lagrangian is extremum.


Hard Radiation

The term attributed to high energetic X-rays or gamma rays having high penetration power into almost all materials. 


Hardness

Mechanical property which is a measure of materials resistance to localized plastic deformation.


Harmonic Motion

 See simple harmonic motion.


Health Physics

It is branch of physics which deals with radiation protection of occupational workers in nuclear reactors and other radiation material handling centers.

 

Heat Capacity

The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of the whole body there 1oC or 1oK is called heat capacity of body.


Heat Engine Law

Conversion of total heat energy into work is impossible.


Heat Engine

It is cyclic process in which heat is continuously converted into mechanical work. It has 3 main parts: source, sink and working substance. i) Source of heat at constant temperature to drive heat; ii) Sink at constant temperature, heat can be supplied without change in temperature. iii) Working substance: absorbs heat from source, converts part of the heat into mechanical work & rejects remaining heat to sink.


Heat

It is a form of energy (kinetic energy of molecules constituting the body) which produces sensation of warmth.

                                      (or)

It is energy that is transferred between a system and its environment because of a temperature difference that exists between them.


Heavy Water

Also referred as Deuterium oxide, is a type of water in which Deuterium (an isotope of Hydrogen) substitutes Hydrogen i.e. D2O. It has importance for having properties like Neutron moderation, high boiling point etc.


Heisenberg Forces

Type of nuclear force in which there is exchange of both spin and position coordinates.


Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle

Based on wave nature of matter, Heisenberg proposed a principle according to which, macroscopically it is possible to exactly measure position of moving particle and momentum associated with it but microscopically it is not possible. According to this principle, product of uncertainties in the measurement of position and momentum is of order of h/2π; where ‘h’ is Planck’s constant.


Helicity

Lee and yang suggested that the violation of parity in beta decay was direct consequence of longitudinal polarization of emitted electrons and Neutrons. The state and degree of longitudinal polarization of particles is represented by the term Helicity.


Heliocentric Theory

The theory proposed by Nicolas Copernicus, a polish astronomer. Heliocentric system first appeared in his book “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium”, “on the revolutions of heavenly bodies” which appeared in 1543. “Helios” in Greek means “sun”. Heliocentric means that the sun is at the center. As per this theory, sun remains at center and all the planets revolve round it. The moon is only celestial sphere in the system that revolves round the earth and together around sun.