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Heat and Half-life: Physics Practice

Word List with 54 words
By Dictionary.com

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Words in This List

cohesive

adjective

of or pertaining to the molecular force within a body or substance acting to unite its parts

spectrum

noun

light waves or particles, the band of colors produced when sunlight passes through a prism, comprising red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet

viscosity

noun

the property of a fluid that resists the force tending to cause the fluid to flow; the measure of the extent to which a fluid possesses this property

interaction

noun

the direct effect that one kind of particle has on another in inducing the emission or absorption of one particle by another

reverberate

verb

to be reflected many times, as sound waves from the walls of a confined space

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collision

noun

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

absorption

noun

the removal of energy or particles from a beam by the medium through which the beam propagates

radiation

noun

the process in which energy is emitted as particles or waves, transmitted through an intervening medium or space, and absorbed by another body

attraction

noun

the electric or magnetic force that acts between oppositely charged bodies, tending to draw them together

laser

noun

a device that produces a nearly parallel, monochromatic, coherent beam of light by exciting atoms to a higher energy level and causing them to radiate

fluidity

noun

the ability of a substance to flow; a measure of this ability, the reciprocal of the coefficient of viscosity

repulsion

noun

the force that acts between bodies of like electric charge or magnetic polarity, tending to separate them

wavelength

noun

the distance measured by the propagation of a wave between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation

surface tension

noun

the elasticlike force existing in the surface of a liquid caused by asymmetries in the intermolecular forces between surface molecules

critical mass

noun

the amount of a given fissionable material necessary to sustain a chain reaction at a constant rate

excited state

noun

any of the energy levels of a physical system, such as an atom or molecule, that has higher energy than the lowest energy level

subatomic

adjective

pertaining to a process that occurs within an atom; noting a particle contained in an atom, such as electrons, protons, or neutrons

electromagnetic radiation

noun

radiation consisting of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays

positron

noun

a particle having the same mass and spin as an electron but having a positive charge equal in magnitude to that of the electron's negative charge

radiant energy

noun

energy transmitted in wave motion, especially electromagnetic wave motion

gamma ray

noun

a photon of penetrating electromagnetic radiation emitted from an atomic nucleus; electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than 1/10 of a nanometer

transverse wave

noun

a wave in which the direction of displacement is perpendicular to the direction of propagation, as a surface wave of water

electromagnetic wave

noun

a wave produced by the acceleration of an electric charge and propagated by the periodic variation of intensities

compressibility

noun

the reciprocal of the bulk modulus, equal to the ratio of the fractional change in volume to the stress applied to a body

sound wave

noun

a longitudinal wave in an elastic medium, especially a wave producing an audible sensation

sonograph

noun

an instrument that produces a graphic, visible representation of sound

base unit

noun

one of the units, as mass, length, time, or electric current, taken as a basis for a system of units in the sciences

magic number

noun

the atomic number or neutron number of an exceptionally stable nuclide

heat of fusion

noun

the heat absorbed by a unit mass of a solid at its melting point that completely converts the solid to a liquid at the same temperature

energy level

noun

a quantized state in which matter may exist, having constant energy and separated from others in the series by finite quantities of energy

atomic structure

noun

a positively charged nucleus neutralized by negatively charged electrons revolving in orbits at varying distances from the nucleus

thermal conductivity

noun

the amount of heat per unit time per area that can be conducted through a plate of thickness of a given material, differing by one unit of temperature

supercritical

adjective

pertaining to a mass of radioactive material in which the rate of a chain reaction increases with time

gravitational field

noun

the attractive effect of matter on other matter; the region surrounding an astronomical body in which the force of gravitation is strong

electric intensity

noun

the magnitude of an electric field at a point equal to the force that would be exerted on a small unit charge placed at the point

nuclear radiation

noun

radiation in the form of elementary particles emitted by an atomic nucleus produced by decay of radioactive substances or by nuclear fission

law of gravitation

noun

any two masses attract each other with a force equal to a constant, multiplied by the product of the two masses, divided by the square of the distance between them

supercollider

noun

a very large colliding-beam machine in which superconducting magnets create millions of megavolts of energy

acceleration of gravity

noun

the acceleration of a falling body in the earth's gravitational field, inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the body to the center of the earth

acoustics

noun

the branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves

atom

noun

the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element; the number of protons determines the identity of the element

conduction

noun

the transfer of heat between two parts of a stationary system, caused by a temperature difference between the parts

cosmic ray

noun

a radiation of high penetrating power that originates in outer space and consists partly of high-energy atomic nuclei

cycle

noun

a sequence of changing states that produces a final state identical to the original one; one of a succession of periodically recurring events

energy

noun

the property of a system that diminishes when the system does work on any other system, by an amount equal to the work so done

fission

noun

the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into nuclei of lighter atoms, accompanied by the release of energy

gas

noun

a substance possessing perfect molecular mobility and the property of indefinite expansion, as opposed to a solid or liquid

half-life

noun

the time required for one half the atoms of a given amount of a radioactive substance to disintegrate

heat

noun

nonmechanical energy transfer with reference to a temperature difference between a system and its surroundings

inertia

noun

the property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force

joule

noun

a unit of energy, the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves through a distance of one meter in the direction of the force

vibration

noun

the analogous motion of the particles of a mass of air or the like, whose state of equilibrium has been disturbed, as in transmitting sound

wave

noun

a progressive disturbance propagated in a medium without progress or advance by the points themselves, as in the transmission of sound or light

x-ray

noun

a form of electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength than light and capable of penetrating solids and of ionizing gases