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field, in physics

(Encyclopedia)field, in physics, region throughout which a force may be exerted; examples are the gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields that surround, respectively, masses, electric charges, and magnets. The...

seismic sea wave

(Encyclopedia)seismic sea wave: see tsunami.

nucleus, in physics

(Encyclopedia)nucleus, in physics, the extremely dense central core of an atom. Following the discovery of radioactivity by A. H. Becquerel in 1896, Ernest Rutherford identified two types of radiation given off b...

formula, in mathematics and physics

(Encyclopedia)formula, in mathematics and physics, equation expressing a definite fixed relationship between certain quantities. The quantities are usually expressed by letters, and their relationship is indicated ...

nuclear physics

(Encyclopedia)nuclear physics, study of the components, structure, and behavior of the nucleus of the atom. It is especially concerned with the nature of matter and with nuclear energy. ...

solid-state physics

(Encyclopedia)solid-state physics, study of the properties of bulk matter rather than those of the individual particles that compose it. Solid-state physics is concerned with the properties exhibited by atoms and m...

low-temperature physics

(Encyclopedia)low-temperature physics, science concerned with the production and maintenance of temperatures much below normal, down to almost absolute zero, and with various phenomena that occur only at such tempe...

modulation, in communications

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Modulation modulation, in communications, process in which some characteristic of a wave (the carrier wave) is made to vary in accordance with an information-bearing signal wave (the modulatin...

Broglie, Louis Victor, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Broglie, Louis Victor, duc de, 1892–1987, French physicist. In 1928 he became professor in the faculty of sciences, Univ. of Paris. It was known from the earlier quantum theory that light waves some...

amplitude

(Encyclopedia)amplitude ămˈplĭto͞odˌ [key], in physics, maximum displacement from a zero value or rest position. In the harmonic motion of a pendulum, the amplitude of the swing is the greatest distance reache...