kb/data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_physics-7.md

6.3 KiB
Raw Blame History

title chunk source category tags date_saved instance
Glossary of physics 8/13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_physics reference science, encyclopedia 2026-05-05T07:51:11.278375+00:00 kb-cron

graviton A hypothetical elementary particle that meditates the force of gravitation.

gravity See gravitation.

ground

ground reaction force

ground state

group velocity

== H ==

hadron A composite particle made from two or more quarks held together by the strong force. Protons and neutrons are both considered hadrons.

half-life The time required for a quantity to fall to half its value as measured at the beginning of the time period. In physics, half-life typically refers to a property of radioactive decay, but may refer to any quantity which follows an exponential decay.

Hamilton's principle

Hamiltonian mechanics

harmonic mean

heat A form of energy transferred from one body to another by thermal interaction.

heat transfer

Helmholtz free energy

hertz The SI unit of frequency, defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon.

Higgs boson

homeokinetics The physics of complex, self-organizing systems.

horsepower (hp)

HuygensFresnel principle

hydrostatics

== I ==

ice point A physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a liquid to a solid.

impedance The measure of the opposition that an electric circuit presents to a current when a voltage is applied.

implosion

impulse The change in momentum, which is equal to the average net external force multiplied by the length of time this force acts.

indefinite integral

inductance

infrasound

inertia The resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion.

inductive reactance

integral

integral transform

International System of Units (SI) The modern form of the metric system, comprising a system of units of measurement devised around seven base units and the convenience of the number ten.

invariant mass

ion An atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving the atom a net positive or negative electric charge.

ionic bond A type of chemical bond formed through an electrostatic attraction between two oppositely charged ions.

ionization The process of converting an atom or molecule into an ion by adding or removing charged particles such as electrons or other ions.

ionization chamber

ionizing radiation

isotope A variant of a particular chemical element. While all atoms of a given element share the same number of protons, each isotope differs from the others in its number of neutrons.

== J ==

Josephson effect

joule (J) A derived unit of energy, work, or amount of heat in the International System of Units.

jerk The rate of change of acceleration, or the third derivative of displacement.

== K ==

Kelvin A scale and unit of measurement of temperature. The Kelvin scale is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale which uses absolute zero as its null point.

kinematics The branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of points, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without consideration of the causes of motion. The study of kinematics is often referred to as the "geometry of motion".

kinetic energy The energy that a physical body possesses due to its motion, defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. The body continues to maintain this kinetic energy unless its velocity changes. Contrast potential energy.

Kirchhoff's circuit laws Also called Kirchhoff's rules or simply Kirchhoff's laws. Two approximate equalities that deal with the current and voltage in electrical circuits. See Kirchhoff's laws for other meanings of the term.

Kirchhoff's equations In fluid dynamics, a set of equations which describe the motion of a rigid body in an ideal fluid.

== L ==

Lagrangian mechanics

laminar flow Also called streamline flow. Occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between the layers.

Laplace transform

LaplaceRungeLenz vector Also abbreviated LRL vector. A vector used chiefly to describe the shape and orientation of the orbit of one astronomical body around another, such as a planet revolving around a star. For two bodies interacting by Newtonian gravity, the LRL vector is a constant of motion, meaning that it is the same no matter where it is calculated on the orbit; equivalently, the LRL vector is said to be conserved.

laser A device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation".

law of universal gravitation

LC circuit A circuit consisting of an inductor (with inductance L) and a capacitor (with capacitance C).

Lenz's law

lepton An elementary particle which does not undergo strong interactions but is subject to the Pauli exclusion principle. Two main classes of leptons exist: charged leptons (also known as the electron-like leptons) and neutral leptons (better known as neutrinos).

lever A type of machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge or fulcrum; one of six classical simple machines.

levitation

light A form of electromagnetic radiation that occupies a certain range of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum. In physics, the term sometimes refers collectively to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, in which case light includes gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves, but in common usage "light" more often refers specifically to visible light.

linear actuator A form of motor that generates a linear movement directly.

linear algebra The branch of mathematics concerning vector spaces, often finite or countably infinite dimensional, as well as linear mappings between such spaces.

line of force

linear elasticity The mathematical study of how solid objects deform and become internally stressed due to prescribed loading conditions. Linear elasticity is a simplification of the more general nonlinear theory of elasticity and is a branch of continuum mechanics.

Liouville's theorem Phase space volume is conserved.

liquid One of four classical states of matter having a definite volume but no fixed shape.