PHYSICS – DEFINITIONS
🔶 1. Electrostatics
Coulomb’s Law :The force between two point charges is directly proportional to the
product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance** between
them.
Electric Field (E) :Force experienced per unit positive test charge.
Electric Potential (V) :Work done to bring a unit positive charge from infinity to a point.
Gauss’s Law :The total electric flux through a closed surface equals 1/ε₀ times the charge
enclosed.
🔶 2. Current Electricity
Ohm’s Law :Current through a conductor is proportional to the potential difference across
it at constant temperature.
Resistance (R) :Opposition offered by a conductor to electric current.
Drift Velocity :Average velocity of electrons in the direction opposite to the electric field.
🔶 3. Magnetism & Matter
Magnetic Field (B) :Region around a magnet in which magnetic force can be felt.
Biot–Savart Law :Gives the magnetic field produced at a point due to a current element.
Ampere’s Circuital Law :Line integral of magnetic field over a closed loop equals μ₀
times current enclosed.
🔶 4. Electromagnetic Induction
Faraday’s Law :The emf induced is proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux.
Lenz’s Law :Induced current flows in a direction so as to oppose the change producing it.
Self Inductance (L) :Property of a coil to oppose change in current in itself.
🔶 5. Alternating Current
AC Voltage :Voltage that varies sinusoidally with time.
Reactance :Opposition offered by inductor or capacitor in AC circuit.
Impedance (Z) :Effective opposition in RLC circuit.
🔶 6. Electromagnetic Wave
EM Waves :Waves produced by accelerating charges having electric and magnetic fields
perpendicular to each other.
Displacement Current :Current due to changing electric field.
🔶 7. Optics
Snell’s Law :Ratio of sine of angle of incidence to sine of angle of refraction is constant
(for given medium).
Total Internal Reflection :Complete reflection of light when it travels from denser to
rarer medium beyond critical angle.
Power of Lens :Ability of lens to converge or diverge light.
🔶 8. Dual Nature of Radiation
Photoelectric Effect :Emission of electrons from metal surface when light of suitable
frequency strikes it.
Work Function :Minimum energy needed to eject electron from metal surface.
De Broglie Wavelength :Every moving particle behaves like a wave.
🔶 9. Atoms & Nuclei
Radioactivity :Spontaneous disintegration of unstable nucleus.
Half-life :Time required for half the nuclei of a radioactive substance to decay.
Binding Energy :Energy required to break a nucleus into its nucleons.
🔶 10. Semiconductors
Intrinsic Semiconductor :Pure semiconductor with equal electrons & holes.
Extrinsic Semiconductor :Doped semiconductor to increase conductivity.
PN Junction :Boundary between p-type and n-type semiconductor.
Forward Bias :Connecting p-side to +ve terminal and n-side to –ve terminal.