English > physics: 2 senses > noun 1, cognition| Meaning | The science of matter and energy and their interactions. |
|---|
| Example | "his favorite subject was physics" |
|---|
| Synonym | natural philosophy |
|---|
| Category of | Bohr theory | (physics) a theory of atomic structure that combined Rutherford's model with the quantum theory |
|---|
| Bose-Einstein statistics | (physics) statistical law obeyed by a system of particles whose wave function is not changed when two particles are interchanged (the Pauli exclusion principle does not apply) |
| Coriolis effect | (physics) an effect whereby a body moving in a rotating frame of reference experiences the Coriolis force acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation |
| Coriolis force | (physics) a force due to the earth's rotation |
| Dalton's law, Dalton's law of partial pressures, law of partial pressures | (chemistry and physics) law stating that the pressure exerted by a mixture of gases equals the sum of the partial pressures of the gases in the mixture |
| Fermi-Dirac statistics | (physics) law obeyed by a systems of particles whose wave function changes when two particles are interchanged (the Pauli exclusion principle applies) |
| Gay-Lussac's law, Charles's law, law of volumes | (physics) the density of an ideal gas at constant pressure varies inversely with the temperature |
| Hooke's law | (physics) the principle that (within the elastic limit) the stress applied to a solid is proportional to the strain produced |
| Kirchhoff's laws | (physics) two laws governing electric networks in which steady currents flow |
| Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law, Boltzmann distribution law | (physics) a law expressing the distribution of energy among the molecules of a gas in thermal equilibrium |
| Planck's law | (physics) the basis of quantum theory |
| Planck's radiation law | (physics) an equation that expresses the distribution of energy in the radiated spectrum of an ideal black body |
| absorber | (physics) material in a nuclear reactor that absorbs radiation |
| absorption | (physics) the process in which incident radiated energy is retained without reflection or transmission on passing through a medium |
| absorptivity, absorption factor | (physics) the property of a body that determines the fraction of the incident radiation or sound flux absorbed or absorbable by the body |
| abundance | (physics) the ratio of the number of atoms of a specific isotope of an element to the total number of isotopes present |
| acceleration | (physics) a rate of increase of velocity |
| activated, excited | (of e.g. a molecule) made reactive or more reactive |
| adiabatic | Occurring without loss or gain of heat / heat |
| aeolotropic, eolotropic | Having properties with different values along different axes |
| aerodynamic | Of or relating to aerodynamics |
| amplitude | (physics) the maximum displacement of a periodic wave |
| angular acceleration | (physics) the rate of change of the angular velocity of a rotating body |
| angular velocity | (physics) the rate of change of the angular position of a rotating body |
| antinode | (physics) the point of maximum displacement in a periodic system |
| atom | (physics and chemistry) the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element |
| atomic spectrum | (physics) a spectrum of radiation caused by electron transitions within an atom |
| attractive | Having the properties of a magnet |
| attractor, attracter | (physics) a point in the ideal multidimensional phase space that is used to describe a system toward which the system tends to evolve regardless of the starting conditions of the system |
| backscatter | scatter (radiation) by the atoms of the medium through which it passes |
| bombard | Direct high energy particles or radiation against |
| bound | held with another element, substance or material in chemical or physical union |
| center of buoyancy, centre of buoyancy, center of immersion, centre of immersion | (physics) the center of mass of the immersed part of ship or other floating object |
| chaos | (physics) a dynamical system that is extremely sensitive to its initial conditions |
| chaotic | of or relating to a sensitive dependence on initial conditions |
| classical | (physics) relating to or based on concepts that preceded the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics |
| coefficient of elasticity, modulus of elasticity, elastic modulus | (physics) the ratio of the applied stress to the change in shape of an elastic body |
| coherent | (physics) of waves having a constant phase relation |
| cohesion | (physics) the intermolecular force that holds together the molecules in a solid or liquid |
| collision, hit | (physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together |
| conservation | (physics) the maintenance of a certain quantities unchanged during chemical reactions or physical transformations |
| containment | (physics) a system designed to prevent the accidental release of radioactive material from a reactor |
| corpuscular theory, corpuscular theory of light | (physics) the theory that light is transmitted as a stream of particles |
| couple | (physics) something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines |
| critical | At or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain / sustain a chain ... / chain reaction |
| crystallize, crystallise, crystalize, crystalise | Cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form |
| deceleration | (physics) a rate of decrease in velocity |
| decouple | Eliminate airborne shock waves from (an explosive) |
| demagnetize, demagnetise, degauss | make nonmagnetic |
| depolarize, depolarise | Eliminate the polarization of |
| diabatic | Involving a transfer of heat |
| diffusion | (physics) the process in which there is movement of a substance from an area of high concentration of that substance to an area of lower concentration |
| dip, angle of dip, magnetic dip, magnetic inclination, inclination | (physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon |
| disintegrate, decay, decompose | Lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current |
| disintegrate | Cause to undergo fission or lose particles |
| duality, wave-particle duality | (physics) the property of matter and electromagnetic radiation that is characterized by the fact that some properties can be explained best by wave theory and others by particle theory |
| dynamic | Of or relating to dynamics |
| dynamical system | (physics) a phase space together with a transformation of that space |
| electrify | Charge (a conductor) with electricity |
| elementary particle, fundamental particle | (physics) a particle that is less complex than an atom |
| energy, free energy | (physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work |
| fiducial | Used as a fixed standard of reference for comparison or measurement |
| field theory | (physics) a theory that explains a physical phenomenon in terms of a field and the manner in which it interacts with matter or with other fields |
| fissionable, fissile | capable of undergoing nuclear fission |
| flux density, flux | (physics) the number of changes in energy flow across a given surface per unit area |
| force | (physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity |
| free | unconstrained or not chemically bound in a molecule or not fixed and capable of relatively unrestricted motion |
| freeze, freeze out, freeze down | change from a liquid / liquid to a solid when cold |
| gas constant, universal gas constant, R | (physics) the universal constant in the gas equation |
| gravitational constant, universal gravitational constant, constant of gravitation, G | (physics) the universal constant relating force to mass and distance in Newton's law of gravitation |
| gravitational mass | (physics) the mass of a body as measured by its gravitational attraction for other bodies |
| gravity, gravitation, gravitational attraction, gravitational force | (physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe |
| gravity wave, gravitation wave | (physics) a wave that is hypothesized to propagate / propagate gravity and to travel at the speed of light |
| ground state | (physics) the lowest energy state of an atom or other particle |
| hodoscope | (physics) scientific instrument that traces the path of a charged particle |
| hydrodynamic | Of or relating to hydrodynamics |
| hyperfine | Extremely fine or thin, as in a spectral line split into two or more components |
| identical | Having properties with uniform values along all axes |
| immiscible, non-miscible, unmixable | (chemistry, physics) incapable of mixing |
| incoherent | (physics) of waves having no stable definite or stable phase relation |
| induce, induct | produce electric current by electrostatic or magnetic processes |
| inertia | (physics) the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force |
| inertial mass | (physics) the mass of a body as determined by the second law of motion from the acceleration of the body when it is subjected to a force that is not due to gravity |
| interaction, fundamental interaction | (physics) the transfer of energy between elementary particles or between an elementary particle and a field or between fields |
| isotropy, symmetry | (physics) the property of being isotropic |
| kinetic theory, kinetic theory of gases | (physics) a theory that gases consist of small particles in random motion |
| law of gravitation, Newton's law of gravitation | (physics) the law that states any two bodies attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them |
| law of thermodynamics | (physics) a law governing the relations between states of energy in a closed system |
| light, visible light, visible radiation | (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation |
| liquefy, flux, liquify | Become liquid or fluid when heated |
| liquefy, liquify, liquidize, liquidise | make (a solid substance) liquid, as by heating |
| magnet | (physics) a device that attracts iron and produces a magnetic field |
| magnetic dipole moment | (physics) a current loop gives rise to a magnetic field characteristic of a magnetic dipole |
| magnetize, magnetise | make magnetic |
| mass-energy equivalence | (physics) the principle that a measured quantity of mass is equivalent (according to relativity theory) to a measured quantity of energy |
| mass energy | (physics) the mass of a body regarded relativistically as energy |
| meniscus | (physics) the curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid / liquid in a vertical tube |
| mesonic, mesic | Of or pertaining to a meson |
| metastability | The quality of a physical system that persists in its existing equilibrium when undisturbed (or only slightly disturbed) but able to pass to a more stable equilibrium when sufficiently disturbed |
| metastable | (of physical systems) continuing in its present state of equilibrium unless sufficiently disturbed to pass to a more stable state of equilibrium |
| metric function, metric | A function of a topological space that gives, for any two points in the space, a value equal to the distance between them |
| miscible, mixable | (chemistry, physics) capable of being mixed |
| modulus | (physics) a coefficient that expresses how much of a specified property is possessed by a specified substance |
| molecule | (physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound |
| node | (physics) the point of minimum displacement in a periodic system |
| noncritical | not critical |
| nonfissionable | not capable of undergoing fission |
| nuclear | Of or relating to or constituting / constituting the nucleus of an atom |
| nuclear reaction | (physics) a process that alters the energy or structure or composition of atomic nuclei |
| nuclear reactor, reactor | (physics) any of several kinds of apparatus that maintain and control a nuclear reaction for the production of energy or artificial elements |
| optical density, transmission density, photographic density, absorbance | (physics) a measure of the extent to which a substance transmits light or other electromagnetic radiation |
| oscillation, vibration | (physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean |
| parity, conservation of parity, space-reflection symmetry, mirror symmetry | (physics) parity is conserved in a universe in which the laws of physics are the same in a right-handed system of coordinates as in a left-handed system |
| pencil | A figure formed by a set of straight lines or light rays meeting at a point |
| perturbation | (physics) a secondary influence on a system that causes it to deviate slightly |
| phase space | (physics) an ideal space in which the coordinate dimensions represent the variables that are required to describe a system or substance |
| physicist | A scientist trained in physics |
| polarize, polarise | Cause to vibrate in a definite pattern |
| power | (physics) the rate of doing work |
| principle of equivalence | (physics) the principle that an observer has no way of distinguishing whether his laboratory is in a uniform gravitational field or is in an accelerated frame of reference |
| principle of relativity | (physics) a universal law that states that the laws of mechanics are not affected by a uniform rectilinear motion of the system of coordinates to which they are referred |
| quantal, quantized | Of or relating to a quantum or capable of existing in only one of two states |
| quantize, quantise | apply quantum theory to |
| quantum | (physics) the smallest discrete quantity of some physical property that a system can possess (according to quantum theory) |
| quantum jump | (physics) an abrupt transition of an electron or atom or molecule from one quantum state to another with the emission or absorption of a quantum |
| quantum theory | (physics) a physical theory that certain properties occur only in discrete amounts (quanta) |
| quark | (physics) hypothetical truly fundamental particle in mesons and baryons |
| quench | Reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance |
| reactive | Participating readily in reactions |
| recombination | (physics) a combining of charges or transfer of electrons in a gas that results in the neutralization of ions |
| relativistic | relating or subject to the special or the general theory of relativity |
| relativistic mass | (physics) the mass of a body in motion relative to the observer |
| relativity, theory of relativity, relativity theory, Einstein's theory of relativity | (physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts |
| relaxation, relaxation behavior | (physics) the exponential return of a system to equilibrium after a disturbance |
| reluctance | (physics) opposition to magnetic flux (analogous to electric resistance) |
| reluctivity | (physics) the resistance of a material to the establishment of a magnetic field in it |
| repulsive | possessing the ability to repel |
| rest mass | (physics) the mass of a body as measured when the body is at rest relative to an observer, an inherent property of the body |
| reversible | capable of assuming or producing either of two states |
| reversibly | In a reversible manner |
| rheologic, rheological | Of or relating to rheology |
| scintillation | (physics) a flash of light that is produced in a phosphor when it absorbs a photon or ionizing particle |
| shear | (physics) a deformation of an object in which parallel planes remain parallel but are shifted in a direction parallel to themselves |
| shear | Become deformed by forces tending to produce a shearing strain |
| solidify | Become solid |
| solidify | make solid or more solid |
| soliton, soliton wave, solitary wave | (physics) a quantum of energy or quasiparticle that can be propagated as a traveling wave in nonlinear systems and is neither preceded nor followed by another such disturbance |
| spallation | (physics) a nuclear reaction in which a bombarded nucleus breaks up into many particles |
| strain | (physics) deformation of a physical body under the action of applied forces |
| stress | (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body |
| strong interaction, strong force, color force | (physics) the interaction that binds protons and neutrons together in the nuclei of atoms |
| supersymmetry | (physics) a theory that tries to link the four fundamental forces |
| sympathetic vibration | (physics) vibration produced by resonance |
| tension | (physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body |
| theory of gravitation, theory of gravity, gravitational theory, Newton's theory of gravitation | (physics) the theory that any two particles of matter attract one another with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them |
| transform | increase or decrease (an alternating current or voltage) |
| transform | convert (one form of energy) to another |
| transient | (physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load |
| translate | subject to movement in which every part of the body moves parallel to and the same distance as every other point on the body |
| transmutation | (physics) the change of one chemical element into another (as by nuclear decay or radioactive bombardment) |
| uncharged | Of a particle or body or system |
| unreactive | (chemistry) not reacting chemically |
| viscoelastic | Having viscous as well as elastic properties |
| wave, undulation | (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth |
| wave front, wavefront | (physics) an imaginary surface joining all points in space that are reached at the same instant by a wave propagating / propagating through a medium |
| wave theory, undulatory theory, wave theory of light | (physics) the theory that light is transmitted as waves |
| weak interaction, weak force | (physics) an interaction between elementary particles involving neutrinos or antineutrinos that is responsible for certain kinds of radioactive decay |
| weakly interacting massive particle, WIMP | A hypothetical subatomic particle of large mass that interacts weakly with ordinary matter through gravitation |
| work | (physics) a manifestation of energy |
| Narrower | aeronautics, astronautics | The theory and practice of navigation through air or space |
|---|
| astronomy, uranology | The branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole |
| biophysics | physics as applied to biological problems |
| cryogenics, cryogeny | The branch of physics that studies the phenomena that occur at very low temperatures |
| crystallography | The branch of science that studies the formation and structure of crystals |
| electromagnetism, electromagnetics | The branch of physics concerned with electromagnetic phenomena |
| electronics | The branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices |
| electrostatics | The branch of physics that deals with static electricity |
| mechanics | The branch of physics concerned with the motion / motion of bodies in a frame of reference |
| nuclear physics, atomic physics, nucleonics | The branch of physics that studies the internal structure of atomic nuclei |
| optics | The branch of physics that studies the physical properties of light |
| particle physics, high-energy physics, high energy physics | The branch of physics that studies subatomic particles and their interactions |
| plasma physics | The branch of physics concerned with matter in its plasma phase |
| quantum physics | The branch of physics based on quantum theory |
| rheology | The branch of physics that studies the deformation and flow of matter |
| solid-state physics | The branch of physics that studies the properties of materials in the solid state |
| statistical mechanics | The branch of physics that makes theoretical predictions about the behavior of macroscopic systems on the basis of statistical laws governing its component particles |
| thermodynamics | The branch of physics concerned with the conversion of different forms of energy |
| Broader | natural science | The sciences involved in the study of the physical world and its phenomena |
|---|
| Spanish | filosofía natural, física |
|---|
| Catalan | física |
|---|
| Adjectives | physical | relating to the sciences dealing with matter and energy |
|---|
| Nouns | physicist | a scientist trained in physics |
|---|
