An Overview Physics Through the 1990's (1986) / Chapter Skim
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Glossary of Physical Terms
Glossary of Physical Terms
Pages 142-156
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A positively charged particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons, identical with the nucleus of the helium atom; emitted by several radioactive substances. Angstrom.
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The characteristics of the elementary particles of which the atom is composed and the processes involved in the interactions of radiant energy with matter. Atomic spectrum.
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Dirac electron theory. Theory that accounts for spin angular momentum of the electron and gives its magnetic moment and its behavior in an electromagnetic field.
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A laser in which beams of unbound electrons interact with a strong magnetic field to produce tunable laser light. Free radical.
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Hall current. When an electric current in a conductor is placed in a magnetic field that is perpendicular to the current a transverse electric field is created, which in turn can support a transverse current.
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Lamb shift. A small shift in the energy levels of a hydrogen atom, and of hydrogenlike ions, from those predicted by the Dirac electron theory, in accord with principles of quantum electrodynamics.
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A hypothetical particle carrying magnetic charge; it would be a source for magnetic field in the same way that a charged particle is a source for electric held. Magnetic permeability.
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Molecular ion. A molecule possessing nonzero net electric charge.
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Muon. Collective name for two semistable elementary particles with positive and negative charge, which are leptons and have a spin of 1/2 and a mass of approximately 105.7 MeV.
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Photon. A massless particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic field, carrying energy, momentum, and angular momentum.
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Quantum. For certain physical quantities, a unit such that the values of the quantity are restricted to integral multiples of this unit (e.g., the quantum of angular momentum is Planck's constant divided by 2~; an entity resulting from quantization of a field or wave, having particlelike properties such as energy' mass, momentum, and angular momentum (e.~., the photon is the quantum of an electromagnetic field, and the phonon is the quantum of a lattice vibration)
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Relativistic magnetron. A device to produce microwaves that uses electrons moving at velocities near the speed of light in a magnetic field.
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Strong interaction. One of the fundamental interactions of elementary particles, primarily responsible for nuclear forces and other interactions among hadrons.
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Tau particle Lor tau lepton (I. A short-lived elementary particle of the lep ton family that exists in positive and negative charge states and has a mass about 3500 times heavier than an electron.
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Weak interaction. One of the fundamental interactions among elementary particles responsible for beta decay of nuclei and for the decay of particles with lifetimes greater than about 10-~° second, such as muons, K mesons, and lambda hyperons; it is several orders of magnitude weaker than the strong and electromagnetic interactions.
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Key Terms
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