GLOSSARY
Coulomb - the SI unit of electric charge; symbol C
Coulomb's Constant - the proportionality constant, k, in Coulomb's law
Coulomb's Law - the force between two point charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges and directly proportional to the product of the charges
Electric Field - the region in which a force is exerted on an electric charge; the electric force per unit positive charge; unit is N/C
Electric Field Lines - a force with magnitude and direction that acts between two charged particles
Electric Potential - the value, in volts, of potential energy per unit positive charge for a given point in an electric field; 1 V = 1 J/C
Electric Potential Difference - the amount of work required per unit charge to move a positive charge from one point to another in the presence of an electric field
Electric Potential Due to a Point Charge - the electric potential is inversely proportional to the distance from the charge and proportional to the amount of charge producing the field
Electric Potential Energy - the energy stored in a system of two charges a distance apart, or the energy stored in an electric field that can do work on a positively charged particle
Field Theory - a scientific model that describes forces in terms of entities that exist at every point in space
Force of Gravity - the force of attraction between all objects due to mass
Gravitational Constant - a constant that appears in the universal law of gravitation; the constant is written as G
Gravitational Field - a collection of vectors, one at each point in space, that determines that magnitude and direction of the gravitational force
Gravitational Field Strength - the magnitude of the gravitational field vector at a point in space
Gravitational Potential Energy - stored energy an object has because of its position and the applied gravitational force
Magnetic Field Line - one of a set of lines drawn to indicate the strength and direction of a magnetic field
Principle of Electromagnetism - moving electric charges produce a magnetic field
Right-hand Rule for a Moving Charge in a Magnetic Field - if you point your right thumb in the direction of the velocity of the charge, and your straight fingers in the direction of the magnetic field, then your palm will point in the direction of the resulting magnetic force
Right-hand Rule for a Solenoid - if you coil the fingers of your right hand around a solenoid in the direction of the conventional current, your thumb points in the direction of the magnetic field lines in the centre of the coil
Right-hand Rule for a Straight Conductor - if your right thumb is pointing in the direction of conventional current, and you curl your fingers forward, your curled fingers point in the direction of the magnetic field lines
Satellite - an object or a body that revolves around another body due to gravitational attraction
Uniform Circular Motion - the motion of an object with a constant speed along a circular path of constant radius
Universal Law of Gravitation - there is a gravitational attraction between any two objects; if the objects have masses m1 and m2 and their centres are separated by a distance r, the magnitude of the gravitational force on either object is directly proportional to the product of m1 and m2 and inversely proportional to the square of r
Coulomb's Constant - the proportionality constant, k, in Coulomb's law
Coulomb's Law - the force between two point charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges and directly proportional to the product of the charges
Electric Field - the region in which a force is exerted on an electric charge; the electric force per unit positive charge; unit is N/C
Electric Field Lines - a force with magnitude and direction that acts between two charged particles
Electric Potential - the value, in volts, of potential energy per unit positive charge for a given point in an electric field; 1 V = 1 J/C
Electric Potential Difference - the amount of work required per unit charge to move a positive charge from one point to another in the presence of an electric field
Electric Potential Due to a Point Charge - the electric potential is inversely proportional to the distance from the charge and proportional to the amount of charge producing the field
Electric Potential Energy - the energy stored in a system of two charges a distance apart, or the energy stored in an electric field that can do work on a positively charged particle
Field Theory - a scientific model that describes forces in terms of entities that exist at every point in space
Force of Gravity - the force of attraction between all objects due to mass
Gravitational Constant - a constant that appears in the universal law of gravitation; the constant is written as G
Gravitational Field - a collection of vectors, one at each point in space, that determines that magnitude and direction of the gravitational force
Gravitational Field Strength - the magnitude of the gravitational field vector at a point in space
Gravitational Potential Energy - stored energy an object has because of its position and the applied gravitational force
Magnetic Field Line - one of a set of lines drawn to indicate the strength and direction of a magnetic field
Principle of Electromagnetism - moving electric charges produce a magnetic field
Right-hand Rule for a Moving Charge in a Magnetic Field - if you point your right thumb in the direction of the velocity of the charge, and your straight fingers in the direction of the magnetic field, then your palm will point in the direction of the resulting magnetic force
Right-hand Rule for a Solenoid - if you coil the fingers of your right hand around a solenoid in the direction of the conventional current, your thumb points in the direction of the magnetic field lines in the centre of the coil
Right-hand Rule for a Straight Conductor - if your right thumb is pointing in the direction of conventional current, and you curl your fingers forward, your curled fingers point in the direction of the magnetic field lines
Satellite - an object or a body that revolves around another body due to gravitational attraction
Uniform Circular Motion - the motion of an object with a constant speed along a circular path of constant radius
Universal Law of Gravitation - there is a gravitational attraction between any two objects; if the objects have masses m1 and m2 and their centres are separated by a distance r, the magnitude of the gravitational force on either object is directly proportional to the product of m1 and m2 and inversely proportional to the square of r