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Chapter 20-21 Science vocab

Terms in this set (38)

Electric charge
Causes subatomic particles to attract and repel
Electric force
The force of attraction or repulsion between electrically charged particles
Electric field
The effect an electric charge has on its surroundings
Law of conservation of charge
Total charge is the same before and after the transfer
Induction
The transfer of a charge without contact between the two objects
Electric current
The flow of electric charge (continuous)
Direct current
Charge flows only in one direction
Alternating current
Flow of charge when it reverses direction
Electrical conductor
Material through which a charge can flow easily
Electrical insulator
Material in which a charge cannot flow through
Resistance
The opposition of the flow of charges in a material
Superconductor
Material that has almost zero resistance when cooled to low temperatures
Potential difference
The difference in electrical potential energy between two places in an electric field
Voltage l
Potential difference unit
Battery
Converts chemical energy to electrical energy
Ohm's Law
V= I•R or I=V/R
Electric circuit
A complete path through which charge can flow
Series circuit
Charge has only one path through which it can flow
Parallel circuit
An electric circuit with two or more paths through which it can flow
Electric power
The rate at which energy is converted into another form of energy
Fuse
Prevents current overload in a circuit
Circuit breaker
A switch that opens when current in a circuit is too high
Grounding
The transfer of an overload of energy into the ground
Electronics
Science of using electric current to process or transmit information
Electric signal
Information sent as patterns in a controlled flow of electrons through a circuit
Analog signal
A smoothly varying signal produced by continuously changing the voltage or current in a current
Digital signal
Encodes information in a string of 1's and 0's
Semiconductor
Crystalline solid that conducts current only under certain conditions
Diode
A solid state component that combines an n-type and p-type semiconductor
Transistor
A solid state component with three layers of semiconductors
Integrated circuit
A thin slice of silicon that contains many solid-state components
Computer
A programmable device that can store and process information
Magnetic force
The force a magnet exerts on another magnet
Magnetic pole
Regions where the magnets force is the strongest
Magnetic field
Surrounds and can exert magnetic forces
Magnetosphere
The magnetic field surrounding earth
Magnetic domain
A region that has a very large number atoms with aligned magnetic fields
Ferromagnetic material
Can be magnetized because it contains magnetic domains
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