Glossary of classical physics

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This article is a glossary of classical physics. It is some of the most common terms in classical physics and how they are used.


Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z— See also

[edit] A

  • Acceleration - the change in the velocity of an object in unit time
  • Ampère's law - relates a circulating magnetic field to an electric current passing through a loop
  • Atom - smallest unit of a chemical element, the limit of classical physics on the small length scales

[edit] B

[edit] C

[edit] D

  • Determinism - classical physics is largely deterministic
  • Dip(δ) - the angle which the direction of total intensity of earth's magnetic field makes with a horizontal line in the magnetic meridian at that place.

[edit] E

  • Elastic collision - a collision, during which no kinetic is lost
  • Electric current - the flow of electric charge through an object
  • Electrical resistance - a measure of the degree to which an object opposes the passage of electric current
  • Energy - a measure of being able to do mechanical work
  • Electromotive force - the amount of energy gained per unit charge that passes through a device in the opposite direction to the electric field existing across that device
  • Eddy currents - changing magnetic flux linked with metal plate produces induced current which flow in closed paths throughout the body of the metal

[edit] F

  • Force - an external cause for acceleration in a physical system
  • Free energy - the amount of mechanical work that can be extracted from a system

[edit] G

  • Gravity - an attractive force between particles with mass
  • Geomagnetism - The branch of physics which deals with the study of earth's magnetic field

[edit] H

[edit] I

  • Ideal gas - a gas consisting of identical particles of negligible volume, with no intermolecular forces
  • Inertia - a historical concept used for describing massive, moving objects

[edit] J

  • Joule's law - equation for the heat generated by a current flowing in a conductor

[edit] K

[edit] L

  • Lagrangian - a function describing the equations of motion for a system
  • Lagrangian mechanics - an abstract reformulation of classical mechanics
  • Light - electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength visible to the human eye

[edit] M

  • Macroscopic - attribute used for objects and processes observable by the naked eye
  • Mass - a measure of the amount of matter
  • Maxwell's equations - four equations that describe electric and magnetic fields, and their interaction with matter
  • Molecule - a group of atoms koined by chemical bonds
  • Momentum - the product of mass and velocity
  • Magnetic field - The space around a magnet or a conductor carrying current within which its magnetic influence can be detected or experienced.

[edit] N

[edit] O

  • Ohm's law - relationship between the current flowing in a conductor and the voltage difference between its end

[edit] P

[edit] Q

[edit] R

  • Resonance - the tendency of a system to absorb more energy at its resonance frequency in a given process

[edit] S

[edit] T

[edit] U

[edit] V

  • Velocity - the change in the position of an object in time

[edit] W

  • Wave - a disturbance that propagates in a periodically repeating fashion, often transferring energy
  • Work - the energy transferred to an object by a force

[edit] X

  • X-rays - a form of ionizing electromagnetic radiation

[edit] Y


[edit] See also