Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

wave, in physics

(Encyclopedia)wave, in physics, the transfer of energy by the regular vibration, or oscillatory motion, either of some material medium or by the variation in magnitude of the field vectors of an electromagnetic fie...

wave, in the earth sciences

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Diagram of wave: Wave travels one wavelength during one period B. Diagram of wave: Phase relationships wave, in oceanography, an oscillating movement up and down, of a body of water caused ...

dimension, in physics

(Encyclopedia)dimension, in physics, an expression of the character of a derived quantity in relation to fundamental quantities, without regard for its numerical value. In any system of measurement, such as the met...

dispersion, in physics

(Encyclopedia)dispersion, in physics: see spectrum. ...

contraction, in physics

(Encyclopedia)contraction, in physics: see expansion. ...

aureole, in physics

(Encyclopedia)aureole ôrˈēōlˌ [key], in physics, luminous circle seen when the sun or other bright light is observed through a diffuse medium, i.e., smoke, thin cloud, fog, haze, or mist. It sometimes occurs a...

illumination, in physics

(Encyclopedia)illumination, in physics: see lighting; photometry. ...

period, in physics

(Encyclopedia)period, in physics: see harmonic motion; wave. ...

phase, in physics

(Encyclopedia)phase, in physics: see wave.

mass, in physics

(Encyclopedia)mass, in physics, the quantity of matter in a body regardless of its volume or of any forces acting on it. The term should not be confused with weight, which is the measure of the force of gravity (se...