Physics Concepts - Fundamental Laws & Principles

100 flashcards · Advanced · Science & Technology

Learn physics terminology, fundamental laws, formulas, and concepts. Perfect for students, engineers, and science professionals.

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Kelvin (K)

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Units

The SI unit of thermodynamic temperature.

Kelvin (K)

Pronunciation

KEL-vin

What you'll learn

Grasp fundamental physics laws.
Master essential scientific principles.
Apply core physics formulas.
Understand key SI units.

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Units · 12

Kelvin (K)/ KEL-vin /: The SI unit of thermodynamic temperature.
Joule (J)/ jool /: The SI unit of energy and work.
Watt (W)/ wot /: The SI unit of power.
Newton (N)/ NOO-ton /: The SI unit of force.
Kilogram (kg)/ KIL-uh-gram /: The SI unit of mass.
Second (s)/ SEK-und /: The SI unit of time.
Ampere (A)/ AM-peer /: The SI unit of electric current.
Meter (m)/ MEE-ter /: The SI unit of length.
Ohm (Ω)/ ohm /: The SI unit of electrical resistance.
Volt (V)/ vohlt /: The SI unit of electric potential difference.
Hertz (Hz)/ hurts /: The SI unit of frequency, representing cycles per second.
Coulomb (C)/ KOO-lom /: The SI unit of electric charge.

Optics · 7

Refraction/ ree-FRAK-shun /: The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another.
Reflection/ ree-FLEK-shun /: The bouncing back of light, sound, or heat waves when they hit a surface.
Diffraction/ dih-FRAK-shun /: The spreading out of waves as they pass through an opening or around an obstacle.
Lens/ lenz /: A piece of transparent material, usually glass or plastic, that refracts light to form an image.
Mirror/ MIR-or /: A surface that reflects light.
Spectrum/ SPEK-trum /: A band of colors, as seen in a rainbow, produced by separation of the components of light by their different degrees of refraction.
Polarization/ poh-ler-i-ZAY-shun /: The restriction of the vibrations of a transverse wave, especially light, to one direction.

Mechanics · 21

Mass/ mas /: A measure of the amount of matter in an object.
Weight/ wayt /: The force of gravity acting on an object's mass.
Force/ fors /: A push or pull that can cause an object to accelerate.
Velocity/ vuh-LOS-i-tee /: The rate at which an object changes its position, including direction.
Acceleration/ ak-sel-uh-RAY-shun /: The rate at which an object's velocity changes.
Displacement/ dis-PLAYSS-ment /: The change in position of an object, including direction.
Speed/ speed /: The rate at which an object covers distance.
Gravity/ GRAV-i-tee /: The natural force that attracts any two objects with mass.
Work/ wurk /: The energy transferred to or from an object by a force acting on it over a distance.
Power/ pow-er /: The rate at which work is done or energy is transferred.
Energy/ EN-er-jee /: The ability to do work.
Kinetic Energy/ kih-NET-ik EN-er-jee /: The energy an object possesses due to its motion.
Potential Energy/ puh-TEN-shul EN-er-jee /: Stored energy due to an object's position or state.
Momentum/ moh-MEN-tum /: The product of an object's mass and its velocity.
Friction/ FRIK-shun /: A force that opposes motion between two surfaces in contact.
Pressure/ PRESH-er /: Force applied perpendicular to a surface per unit area.
Density/ DEN-si-tee /: Mass per unit volume of a substance.
Torque/ tork /: A twisting force that tends to cause rotation.
Equilibrium/ ee-kwuh-LIB-ree-um /: A state where all forces acting on an object are balanced, resulting in no acceleration.
Elasticity/ ee-las-TIS-i-tee /: The ability of a material to return to its original shape after being deformed.
Newton's Laws of Motion/ NOO-tunz lawz ov MOH-shun /: Three fundamental laws describing the relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it, and its motion in response to those forces.

Thermodynamics · 10

Temperature/ TEM-per-uh-cher /: A measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance.
Heat/ heet /: The transfer of thermal energy between objects due to a temperature difference.
Conduction/ kun-DUK-shun /: Heat transfer through direct contact.
Convection/ kun-VEK-shun /: Heat transfer through the movement of fluids (liquids or gases).
Radiation/ ray-dee-AY-shun /: Heat transfer through electromagnetic waves.
Entropy/ EN-truh-pee /: A measure of the disorder or randomness of a system.
Specific Heat Capacity/ spuh-SIF-ik heet kuh-PAS-i-tee /: The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius.
Phase Change/ fayz chaynzh /: A transition of matter from one state (solid, liquid, gas) to another.
Latent Heat/ LAY-tent heet /: The heat absorbed or released during a phase change at constant temperature.
Thermal Expansion/ THUR-mul eks-PAN-shun /: The tendency of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature.

Electromagnetism · 16

Charge/ charj /: A fundamental property of matter that experiences a force when in an electromagnetic field.
Current/ KUR-ent /: The flow of electric charge.
Voltage/ VOHL-tij /: The electric potential difference between two points, driving current.
Resistance/ ree-ZIS-tens /: The opposition to the flow of electric current.
Circuit/ SUR-kit /: A closed loop through which electric current can flow.
Magnetism/ MAG-nuh-tiz-um /: A force that attracts or repels certain materials, caused by the motion of electric charges.
Electric Field/ ee-LEK-trik feeld /: A region around a charged particle or object within which a force would be exerted on other charged particles.
Magnetic Field/ mag-NET-ik feeld /: A region around a magnetic material or a moving electric charge within which the force of magnetism acts.
Electromagnetic Spectrum/ ee-lek-troh-mag-NET-ik SPEK-trum /: The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation, from radio waves to gamma rays.
Induction/ in-DUK-shun /: The process by which an electric current or magnetic field is produced in a conductor by a changing magnetic field.
Capacitance/ kuh-PAS-i-tens /: The ability of a system to store an electric charge.
Diode/ DY-ohd /: An electronic component that allows current to flow in only one direction.
Transistor/ tran-ZIS-tor /: A semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power.
Ohm's Law/ ohmz law /: A law stating that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points.
Alternating Current (AC)/ AWL-ter-nay-ting KUR-ent /: Electric current that periodically reverses direction.
Direct Current (DC)/ duh-REKT KUR-ent /: Electric current that flows in only one direction.

Waves · 7

Wave/ wayv /: A disturbance that transfers energy without transferring matter.
Frequency/ FREE-kwen-see /: The number of complete cycles of a wave that pass a point per unit time.
Wavelength/ WAYV-length /: The distance between two consecutive corresponding points on a wave.
Amplitude/ AM-pli-tood /: The maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position.
Interference/ in-ter-FEER-ens /: The superposition of two or more waves, resulting in a new wave pattern.
Doppler Effect/ DOP-ler ee-FEKT /: The change in frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source.
Sound Wave/ sownd wayv /: A mechanical wave that propagates through a medium by vibrations.

Quantum Physics · 10

Atom/ AT-um /: The basic unit of a chemical element, consisting of a nucleus and orbiting electrons.
Electron/ ee-LEK-tron /: A stable subatomic particle with a negative electric charge.
Proton/ PROH-ton /: A stable subatomic particle with a positive electric charge, found in the nucleus of an atom.
Neutron/ NOO-tron /: A subatomic particle with no electric charge, found in the nucleus of an atom.
Nucleus/ NOO-klee-us /: The central part of an atom, containing protons and neutrons.
Photon/ FOH-ton /: A quantum of electromagnetic radiation, the particle of light.
Quantum/ KWAN-tum /: The smallest discrete unit of any form of energy or matter.
Uncertainty Principle/ un-SER-tin-tee PRIN-si-pul /: A fundamental principle in quantum mechanics stating that certain pairs of physical properties, like position and momentum, cannot both be known with arbitrary precision.
Wave-Particle Duality/ wayv-PAR-ti-kul doo-AL-i-tee /: The concept that every particle or quantum entity may be partly described in terms of waves and partly in terms of particles.
Photoelectric Effect/ foh-toh-ee-LEK-trik ee-FEKT /: The emission of electrons when light shines on a material.

Nuclear Physics · 4

Radioactivity/ ray-dee-oh-ak-TIV-i-tee /: The spontaneous emission of radiation from an unstable atomic nucleus.
Half-life/ haf-lyf /: The time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay.
Fission/ FISH-un /: The splitting of a heavy atomic nucleus into two or more smaller nuclei, releasing energy.
Fusion/ FYOO-zhun /: The combining of two light atomic nuclei to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy.

Modern Physics · 1

Relativity/ rel-uh-TIV-i-tee /: Einstein's theory dealing with the relationship between space and time, and the equivalence of mass and energy.

Constants · 3

Speed of Light (c)/ speed ov lyt /: The speed at which electromagnetic waves travel in a vacuum, approximately 3 x 10^8 m/s.
Planck's Constant (h)/ planks KON-stant /: A fundamental physical constant relating the energy of a photon to its frequency.
Gravitational Constant (G)/ grav-i-TAY-shun-ul KON-stant /: The proportionality constant in Newton's law of universal gravitation.

General Physics · 9

Law of Conservation of Energy/ law ov kon-ser-VAY-shun ov EN-er-jee /: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.
Law of Conservation of Momentum/ law ov kon-ser-VAY-shun ov moh-MEN-tum /: In an isolated system, the total momentum remains constant.
Scalar/ SKAY-ler /: A physical quantity that has magnitude but no direction.
Vector/ VEK-tor /: A physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction.
System/ SIS-tem /: A collection of objects or particles under consideration, often isolated for analysis.
Model/ MOD-el /: A simplified representation of a system or phenomenon used to understand or predict its behavior.
Hypothesis/ hy-POTH-uh-sis /: A proposed explanation for a phenomenon, which can be tested.
Theory/ THEE-uh-ree /: A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment.
Experiment/ eks-PER-i-ment /: A scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.

Physics Concepts - Fundamental Laws & Principles

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Frequently asked questions

Is this flashcard set suitable for all levels of physics learners?

This set is designed for anyone needing a strong foundation in physics, from high school students to professionals seeking a refresher on core concepts and laws.

What specific areas of physics do these flashcards cover?

They cover fundamental principles across classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and optics, including key laws, formulas, and SI units.

How do these flashcards help with understanding difficult physics concepts?

By breaking down complex ideas into digestible facts, these flashcards use spaced repetition to reinforce definitions, laws, and formulas, making recall effortless.

Can mastering these concepts help with advanced physics studies or engineering?

Absolutely. A solid grasp of these fundamental laws and principles is crucial for success in advanced physics courses, engineering disciplines, and scientific research.