Physics key terms

A current produced by the generator effect when the conductor is part of a complete circuit.

A material that becomes a magnet when placed in a magnetic field and quickly loses most or all of that magnetism when the field is removed.

The magnetic field created by an induced current in a conducting circuit.

The process by which a magnetic material becomes a magnet while in an external magnetic field.

A potential difference produced across a conductor by the generator effect.

Charging or separating charge within an object because a charged object is nearby, without direct contact.

A collision in which total kinetic energy is not conserved, although total momentum remains conserved in a closed system. The objects may separate afterwards.

Deformation in which an object does not return completely to its original shape and size when the forces are removed.

A change in shape that remains after the force is removed, so the object does not fully return to its original shape.

An object's tendency to remain at rest or continue moving at uniform velocity. This term is Higher Tier only.

A measure of how difficult it is to change an object's velocity; it is equal to the ratio of resultant force to acceleration.

A measure of how difficult it is to change an object's velocity, defined as resultant force divided by the acceleration it produces.

Meaning carried by variations in a wave, such as the pattern representing speech in a sound wave.

Electromagnetic radiation beyond the red end of visible light, emitted by warm objects and used for heating, imaging and communication.

Electromagnetic radiation associated with heating that can transfer energy to or from an object.

Infrasound is sound with a frequency below 20 Hz, the lower limit of normal human hearing.

The object's speed at the start of the time interval or measured section being considered, measured in m/s.

The velocity at the beginning of the period of motion being considered, represented by $u$.

The speed of an object at one particular moment.

A material through which charge cannot move freely, so transferred electrons can remain in place.

The rate at which radiation transfers energy per unit area, measured in watts per square metre (W/m²).

An effect involving two objects in which each object exerts a force on the other.

A pair of equal-sized, opposite-direction forces of the same type that two interacting objects exert on one another.

A boundary between two materials at which a wave may be reflected, transmitted or absorbed.

A supply that varies or stops because the conditions needed for it are not always present.

Contamination in which radioactive material has entered the body, for example by inhalation, swallowing or through a wound.

The total kinetic energy and potential energy of all the particles that make up a system.