Physics Terms

Major physics terms are explained in these articles. Here you can learn about some of the fundamental physics concepts.

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Planck's constant, which made an appearance in the Netflix series "Stranger Things," is one of the most important differences between reality at the atomic and subatomic level and what we can see around us.

By Patrick J. Kiger & Austin Henderson

The world often seems chaotic and events appear to occur randomly, but what's the difference between chaos and randomness?

By Mitchell Newberry

Frequency has to do with wave speed and wavelength is a measurement of a wave's span. Learn how frequency and wavelength of light are related in this article.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

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The number 137, which is significant in multiple applications, has long been an object of fascination for physicists, mathematicians and mystics.

By Patrick J. Kiger & Austin Henderson

Questions, theories and debates about quantum physics can get muddled because of a number of myths and misconceptions. Here are four of them.

By Alessandro Fedrizzi & Mehul Malik

Under the right conditions, hot water can somehow freeze faster than cold water. It's called the Mpemba effect. We'll explain how it happens.

By Dylan Ris

Einstein famously called the phenomenon "spooky action at a distance," and physicists just won the Nobel Prize for their work on it, but what is quantum entanglement?

By Andreas Muller