30 terms in 3.2
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
The phenomenon in which electrons are emitted from a material when light of sufficiently high frequency shines on it. Th
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
A discrete packet of electromagnetic radiation carrying energy proportional to its frequency: E = hf, where h is Planck'
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
The minimum energy required to remove an electron from the surface of a material. Represented by Φ (in joules or eV), th
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
A discrete energy state available to an electron in an atom. Electrons occupy the lowest available energy levels (ground
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
The concept that matter and electromagnetic radiation exhibit both wave and particle properties depending on how they ar
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
Virtual particles that mediate fundamental forces between matter particles. In quantum field theory, forces are transmit
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
A virtual photon is an ephemeral force-carrying particle (exchange particle) that transmits the electromagnetic force be
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
A massive elementary particle (mass ~80 GeV/c²) that mediates the weak nuclear force. W bosons come in two varieties: W⁺
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
A massive, electrically neutral elementary particle (mass ~91 GeV/c²) that mediates neutral-current weak interactions. T
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
The massless exchange particle that mediates the strong nuclear force between quarks and gluons. Gluons carry colour cha
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
A pictorial representation of particle interactions developed by Richard Feynman. Time progresses upward (or leftward),
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
Pair production is the creation of a particle-antiparticle pair (typically electron-positron) from a high-energy photon
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
A quantum mechanical description of light as discrete packets of energy called photons, each with energy E = hf = hc/λ a
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
The minimum frequency of light required to eject an electron from a material in the photoelectric effect. It is related
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
The retarding potential difference required to reduce the kinetic energy of the most energetic photoelectrons to zero, p
Particles and radiation
Electromagnetic radiation and quantum phenomena
The wavelength associated with a moving particle, given by λ = h/p where h is Planck's constant and p is the particle's
Particles and radiation
Particles
An atom consists of a nucleus (protons and neutrons) surrounded by an electron cloud. Protons and neutrons together form
Particles and radiation
Particles
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, denoted by Z. Atomic number uniquely identifies the chemical element; a
Particles and radiation
Particles
The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom, denoted by A. Mass number does not include electrons
Particles and radiation
Particles
Atoms of the same element (same atomic number Z) that have different numbers of neutrons and therefore different mass nu
Particles and radiation
Particles
A nucleus that does not undergo radioactive decay and remains unchanged over time. Stability depends on the balance betw
Particles and radiation
Particles
A nucleus with too many or too few neutrons relative to the number of protons, causing it to decay radioactively in an a
Particles and radiation
Particles
The force between two point charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the squa
Particles and radiation
Particles
A standardised system for representing subatomic particles using symbols and quantum numbers. Notation includes the part
Particles and radiation
Particles
A type of radioactive decay in which a proton is converted into a neutron, a positron (β⁺, the antimatter counterpart of
Particles and radiation
Particles
A rare decay process in which a nucleus captures one of its own atomic electrons (usually from the K-shell closest to th
Particles and radiation
Particles
An electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary particle with nearly zero rest mass. Neutrinos are produced in be
Particles and radiation
Particles
A quantum number conserved in all interactions, defined as +1 for baryons (protons, neutrons), -1 for antibaryons, and 0
Particles and radiation
Particles
A conserved quantum number assigned to leptons and their interactions. Electrons and electron neutrinos have lepton numb
Particles and radiation
Particles
A quantum number assigned to particles containing strange quarks. Strangeness is conserved in strong nuclear interaction
Particles and radiation