Definitions

1. Frequency- The number of waves in one second

2. Amplitude- the maximum height of a wave from mean position
3. Wavelength-length of one wave(crest to crest or trough to trough)
4. Time period- Time for one oscillation (wave)
5. Speed -Distance travelled per unit time
6. Progressive wave-A wave that transfers energy from one point to another
without transferring the medium itself.
7. Stationary wave-Stationary waves, or standing waves, are produced by
the superposition of two waves of the same frequency and amplitude
traveling in opposite directions.
8. Doppler effect-the change in wave frequency or wave length during the
relative motion between a wave source and its observer
9. Principle of superposition of waves- when two or more waves overlap in
space, the resultant disturbance is equal to the sum of the individual
disturbances.
10.Interference-the combination of two or more electromagnetic waveforms
to form a resultant wave in which the displacement is either reinforced or
cancelled.
11.Fringe-bands of contrasting brightness or darkness produced by
diffraction or interference
12.Coherence-Coherent sources are sources of light that emit waves which
have zero or constant phase difference and same frequency.
13.Constructive interference-Constructive interference occurs when the
maxima of two waves add together (the two waves are in phase), so that
the amplitude of the resulting wave is equal to the sum of the individual
amplitudes.
14.Destructive interference-When two waves are of completely opposite
phase, they either form a new wave of reduced amplitude (partial
destructive interference) or cancel each other
15.Monochromatic -Monochromatic light is a light of a single wavelength
16.Diffraction-bending of waves around the corners of an obstacle.
17.Diffraction grating-A diffraction grating consists of a large number of
evenly spaced parallel slits that produce an interference pattern similar to
but sharper than that of a double slit.
18.Node-a node is the location where destructive interference diminishes the
wave amplitude to zero.
19.Anti nodes-An antinode is the location where constructive interference of
the incoming and reflected waves creates the maximum amplitude of the
wave.
20.Photon-PHOTON is a quantum(packet of ) of electromagnetic radiation
21.Photoelectric effect-The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons
when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a material.
22.Threshold frequency-The minimum frequency of incident electromagnetic
radiation required to remove a photoelectron from the surface of a metal
23.Work function-Work function is a property of a material, which is defined
as the minimum quantity of energy which is required to remove an
electron to infinity from the surface of a given material.
24.Stopping potential-Stopping potential or cut-off potential is defined as the
required potential for stopping the removal of an electron from a metal
surface.or The maximum kinetic energy of the electrons equal the
stopping voltage, when measured in electron volt.
25.Wave particle duality-The Wave-Particle Duality theory states that waves
can exhibit particle-like properties while particles can exhibit wave-like
properties
26.Emission spectra-It is the spectrum of frequencies of electromagnetic
radiation emitted due to an electron making a transition from a high
energy state to a lower energy state
27.Absorption spectra- the spectrum formed by electromagnetic radiation
that has passed through a medium in which radiation of certain
frequencies is absorbed.
28.Nucleon number-It is the total number of protons and neutrons in the
nucleus.
29.Proton number or atomic number-It is the total number of protons in an
atom
30.Isotopes -An isotope is a variation of an element that possesses the same
atomic number but a different mass number.
31.Mass defect -It is the difference between the actual atomic mass and the
predicted mass calculated by adding the mass of protons and neutrons
present in the nucleus.
32.Binding energy -binding energy is the minimum energy required to
separate the protons and neutrons of an atomic nucleus.
33.Nuclear fusion -it is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine
to form a single heavier one.
34.Nuclear fission – it is the splitting of a large atomic nucleus into smaller
nuclei
35.Radioactive decay - Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable
atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation
36.Activity-it is the number of nuclear decays occurring per unit time
37.Decay constant -it is the probability per unit time of the decay of the
nucleus.
38.Half life-it is the time taken for the number of undecayed nuclei to be
reduced to half of its original number.