physics terms library
Major physics terms are explained in these articles. Here you can learn about some of the fundamental physics concepts.
Featured Article: Pyrometer
Pyrometer, an instrument for measuring temperature. Although the term pyrometer is generally considered to apply to instruments that measure high temperatures only, some pyrometers are designed to measure low temperatures. See more »
- 1
- 2
Articles 1-20 of 34
Calorie
Calorie, a unit for measuring the amount of heat released or absorbed by a substance.
See more »Calorimeter
Calorimeter, an instrument for measuring the amount of heat released or absorbed in physical and chemical processes.
See more »Capillary Action
Capillary Action, or Capillarity, the tendency of liquids to rise or to be depressed in tubes of small diameter.
See more »Carat
Carat, a unit of weight for precious stones. The international, or metric, carat was standardized in 1913 and accepted by the United States and many other countries.
See more »Centrifuge
Centrifuge, a machine that separates liquids of different densities. It can also separate liquids from solids that are held in suspension.
See more »Charles' Law
Charles' Law, in physics, a principle that deals with the effect of heat on the expansion of gases.
See more »Cloud Chamber,
Cloud Chamber, a device used by nuclear physicists to detect and study elementary particles Among the many particles that can be detected are alpha particles, protons, electrons, positrons, and various types of mesons.
See more »Cryogenics
Cryogenics, the production of very low temperatures and the study of phenomena at those temperatures.
See more »Doppler Effect
Doppler Effect, an apparent change in the frequency of waves, due to the relative motion of the source of the waves and the observer.
See more »Echo (sound)
Echo, a repeated sound. The term is usually used to refer to sound that is reflected from a surface and returned to its source after a noticeable delay.
See more »Elasticity
Elasticity, the property of a substance that enables it to recover its original shape and size after it has been stretched, squeezed, or bent.
See more »Entropy
Entropy, a measure of the disorder in a system containing energy or information. The less ordered a system is, the greater is its entropy.
See more »Ether (Physics)
Ether, in physics and astronomy, the name given to an imaginary substance once assumed to fill the otherwise empty space between the stars and planets.
See more »Expansion
Expansion, an increase in the volume of a substance, usually due to the addition of heat to the substance.
See more »Flexibility
Flexibility, the property of a substance that enables it to bend without breaking.
See more »Geissler Tube
Geissler Tube, an electron tube that is used to study the behavior of gases. It was invented in the 1860's by Heinrich Geissler, a German.
See more »Heat
Heat, the energy possessed by molecules because of their motion. Since all solids, liquids, and gases are made of molecules that move about, all such substances contain heat.
See more »Lenz's Law
Lenz's Law, a law of electromagnetic induction formulated in 1833 by the German physicist H.
See more »Mass (physics)
Mass, in physics, the property of matter that causes it to have inertia. (Inertia is the resistance of an object to any change in its motion.) The more mass an object has, the more inertia it has.
See more »Mass Spectroscope
Mass Spectroscope, an instrument used to measure the mass of atoms and molecules.
See more »- 1
- 2
Articles 1-20 of 34
videos: physics
Related Ad Categories
