Oaks

park High school: Physics notes

created by Mithun

Physics essential revision notes AQA as physics A Made by Mithun

Oaks park High school: Physics notes

created by Mithun

Physics Revision notes

Particles and radiation Charge-mass ratio: is its charge divided by its mass in kilograms. (Also called specific charge) Unit: C kg-1 1 Femtometre (fm) = 10-15m Nuclear stability A force acts inside the nucleus, known as the strong nuclear force or strong interaction. It has very short range (maximum about 5 fm). Anything below 1-0.5 fm gets strongly repulsive; this prevents the identical particles from collapsing (electrostatic repulsion). Nucleons total number of protons and neutrons (also known as mass number) (N) number of neutrons in the nucleus. An alpha particle has the same configuration as a helium nucleus, The proton number, or atomic number, is the number of protons in the nucleus and is given the symbol Z. The nucleon number is the number of protons plus the number of neutrons. Isotopes- are forms of an element with the same proton number but with a different number of neutrons. The different isotopes of an element have identical chemical behavior. The only difference is one has more neutrons and therefore making it slightly heavier than the other.

A=Z+N

Antimatter

Antiparticle- is a mirror image of a particle, of identical mass but opposite charge. (E.g. Positron) Annihilation- is the conservation of the mass of a particle and its antiparticle to a pair of photons of electromagnetic radiation. Annihilation is the conservation of matter to energy. The opposite process, where matter is created from energy, is called pair production.

Oaks park High school: Physics notes

created by Mithun

Pair production- is the process in which a photon of electromagnetic energy is converted to a pair of particles. In pair production, there is always two particles created; one is a conventional particle and the other is its antiparticle. (This proves conservation of charge) making total charge zero. The minimum energy required to create a particle is known as its rest energy (E0), which depends on its rest mass, (m0). The rest energy is calculated from the rest mass using the formula, E0 = m0c2 where c is the speed of light.

Neutrinos

Neutrinos are most abundant particles in the universe. They are emitted by radioactive nuclei and from nuclear reaction. All objects emit radiation because of their thermal energy. The spectrum of radiation that is emitted depends on the surface temperature of the object and on the type of surface. Objects, which are ideal radiators of energy, are known as Black-Body Radiators. Particle interaction Gravity- infinite range and acts on all particles, Gravity is the weakest of all fundamental forces. Electromagnetic force- acts between all charged particles. It holds the atoms and molecules together. Weak interactions- acts between all particles but with a very short range. It is responsible for radioactive decay. Strong interactions- holds nuclei together. It acts between hadrons such as neutrons, protons. Exchange particle- when two particles exert a force on each other, a virtual particle is created. This particle is the exchanged between the particles and affects their motion. - A virtual particle, which may exist for only a short time, and is a go- between of a force. The electromagnetic force is carried between charged particles by the photon,

y. When two charged particles exert a force on each other, a virtual photon is exchanged between them. The photon is massless, charge less particle.

Oaks park High school: Physics notes

created by Mithun

The strong interaction Maximum mass for an exchange particle is known as pi meson and pion. In strong force, gluons are passing between quarks. The pion is simply a vehicle carrying gluons between hadrons. There are eight different gluons; none of them have been detected as an individual particle. The weak interaction has a very short range. This suggests that the gauge bosons are relatively massive, since the large mass e.g. a high energy, would mean a short lifetime and therefore the exchange particles could only travel a small distance. The gauge bosons for weak are W+, W- and Z. the weak interaction acts on leptons and hadrons. Radioactive decay is also due to weak interactions. Beta-minus decay:

Beta-plus (positron) decay:

Gravity- the gauge boson that carries the gravitational force is named the graviton and has been predicted that it has no mass and charge. It has never been detected. Classification of particles Leptons Leptons are fundamental particles; they have no internal structure and are not affected by the strong interaction. There are 12 different particles in the lepton family. The most familiar lepton is the electron. The other two particles are muon and tau. (Similar to electron but massive). Each has an associated neutrino and antiparticle.

Oaks park High school: Physics notes

created by Mithun

Summary of leptons: The leptons are believed to be fundamental particles. There are three negatively charged particles: electron, muon and tau particle. Each has an associated neutrino. Not affected by strong interactions. Hadrons In addition to leptons, the particles now known as pi mesons, kaons and delta mesons had all been discovered. All of these have greater mass than the leptons. All hadrons eventually decay into a proton. The hadrons are divided into two groups called the baryons and mesons. Conservation of charge Many hadrons, and leptons carry a charge. The conservation of charge means that the total charge after a reaction is the same as the total charge before the reaction. Conservation of baryon number Hadrons can be classified into mesons, baryons and antibaryons. Mesons have a baryon number of 0. Baryons 1 and antibaryons -1. Reactions between any of these hadrons can only occur if the baryon number is conserved. All other particles have a baryon number of 0. Conservation of strangeness There is another property that has to be conserved in hadron reactions. This property is called strangeness. Electromagnetic waves Electromagnetic waves are emitted by the oscillation of charged particles, such as an electron. The oscillation sets up varying electric and magnetic fields, which travel through space. The time taken for a wave to go through one complete oscillation is the period, T. the number of oscillations per second, f, is the frequency. The photoelectric effect Electrons are only emitted from the surface of the metal if the light is above a certain frequency. Every metal has its own particular light frequency, known as the threshold frequency. The electrons are emitted with a range of different kinetic energy. The maximum kinetic energy depends on the frequency of the light, not the intensity. If the light is above the threshold frequency, then the number of electrons emitted per second is proportional to the intensity of the light. Electrons are held by electrostatic forces onto the surface of the metal. The energy needed to remove an electron from the surface of a metal is called the Work function. eV.

Oaks park High school: Physics notes

created by Mithun

Electron volt An electron volt is the amount of energy gained by an electron as it accelerates through a potential difference of 1 volt. Ionisation and excitation Excitation is when an atomic electron moves to a higher energy level. Ionisation is when an electron gains so much energy that its total energy becomes positive. Current electricity An electric current is defined as the rate at which electrically charged particles pass through a point in a circuit. A potential difference is defined as the electrical energy transferred or converted per unit of charge passing between the two points. Superconductors When the electrical resistance disappears completely, it said to have become a superconductor. Every material has its own critical temperature. Series All voltages are equal to each other. And resistance adds up. Same current flows. Parallel Current is added up. Resistance is 1/r = 1/r1 + 1/r2 Power is the rate of change of energy, and is measured in joules per second. Potential divider- splits up the potential difference [voltage] from a source. This can be done using 2 or more resistors in series. E.M.F- can be defined as the P.D. across the source when no current flows, and is the energy per coulomb produced by the source. Oscilloscope- can be used for measuring a.c. and d.c. voltages, measuring small time intervals, and measuring frequency of a.c. and voltages. X-plate varying the voltage, the spot will move horizontally at a constant speed. Also known as the time base. By applying external voltage to the Y-plate, the spot can be moved vertically. Vin = spot deflection x Y-gain Thank you