This page gathers the 3,177 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Physics”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 18 of 32: from “memristor” to “multichimera”.
- memristor noun A passive electrical element in which the electrical resistance is proportional to the integral of the electrical current between the…
- meniscus noun A lens which is convex on one side and concave on the other, being crescent-shaped in cross-section.
- mercury arc rectifier noun A rectifier which converts alternating current to direct current, using a cathode tube with a pool of liquid mercury. Now superseded by…
- meron noun Either of the pair of entities that together make up an instanton.
- mesa noun a structure with components rising above the insulating substrate that surrounds it
- mesh noun In mesh analysis: a loop in an electric circuit (to which Kirchhoff's voltage law can be applied).
- mesh analysis noun A method of solving for the currents in an electric circuit, in which a system of equations is written for mesh currents (using Kirchhoff's…
- mesh current noun In mesh analysis: a construct representing a component of current associated with a particular mesh (loop); the real current on a wire is…
- mesic adj Of or pertaining to mesons; mesonic.
- mesomorphic adj Of or pertaining to phases of matter intermediate between solid and liquid; of or pertaining to liquid crystals.
- meson noun An elementary particle that is composed of a quark and an antiquark, such as a kaon or pion. (Mesons composed of rarer quarks are much…
- mesostate noun An intermediate physical state of matter between solid and liquid, in which the molecules have more freedom of movement than when locked in…
- metabolon noun A particle, having only a temporary existence in its present form, produced during the disintegration of a radioactive substance
- metacentre noun The point where a vertical line through a tilted vessel's center of buoyancy intersects the originally-vertical (but-now-tilted) line that…
- metacentric height noun The vertical distance between the metacentre and center of mass (conventionally taken to be positive when the metacentre is above the…
- metadynamics noun An algorithmic method of simulating rare complex systems and for calculating the free energy associated with them
- metamagnetism noun Any of several effects in which a small change in an applied magnetic field causes a sharp change in magnetization
- metamaterial noun Any material engineered to have a property that is rarely observed in naturally occurring materials; especially
- metamerism noun The matching of apparent color of objects with different spectral power distributions.
- metastable adj Of or pertaining to a physical or chemical state that is relatively long-lived, but may decay to a lower energy state when slightly…
- metastate noun A metastable isomer
- metastructure noun A structure that has one or several properties similar to those of metamaterials
- metasurface noun The surface of a metamaterial.
- metric adj Of or relating to distance.
- metron noun A two-dimensional quantum of multidimensional space, a unit of measure in Heim theory.
- mica insulator noun A sheet of electric insulator material made from mica placed between a power semiconductor device and the heat sink.
- microcanonical adj Describing any closed system of constant volume which is thermally isolated from its surroundings, and whose total energy is constant and…
- microchannel noun A narrow cylinder of semiconductor that amplifies the flow of electrons
- microcircuit noun An electronic device, usually fabricated by photolithography, that is very small and implements several components or their equivalent; an…
- microcontroller noun A microcomputer on a single chip, used to control some device such as an automobile engine or a toy.
- microcrith noun The weight of the half hydrogen molecule, or of the hydrogen atom, taken as the standard in comparing the atomic weights of the elements.
- microdiffraction noun diffraction that uses X-rays focused to a spot size of one micron or less to achieve very high spatial resolution
- microdosimetry noun The measurement of the effects of very small amounts of ionizing radiation, especially that along a single track of such radiation
- microdoublet noun A doublet lens (typically composed of a solid lens and a liquid-filled lens) made by microfabrication
- microfluid noun Any fluid in which the local motion of contained particles affects the behaviour of the fluid as a whole
- microfluidics noun The study of microfluids.
- microgravity noun A state of very low acceleration between two free floating objects, as found in sustained freefall, in orbit, or in interstellar space.
- microhertz noun A unit of frequency equal to one millionth of a hertz; approximately once every eleven and a half days.
- micromirror noun A very small, highly reflective mirror, often supported on a torsion beam, used in a variety of applications and in research on radiation…
- micron noun Synonym of micrometre (“one-millionth of a metre”).
- microphase noun A relatively small-scale part of a solid phase that has a different morphology than that of its surroundings
- microphonics noun The phenomenon where certain components in electronic devices transform mechanical vibrations into an unwanted electrical signal.
- microphotometer noun Any of various photometers used either to measure the variation of densities over small areas, or to measure accurately small changes in…
- microplasticity noun The property of a solid body whereby it shows plasticity (undergoes permanent change due to stress) in local areas while globally showing…
- microrheology noun The branch of rheology that deals with emulsions and heterogeneous mixtures
- microstate noun The specific detailed microscopic configuration of a system.
- microstrain noun A strain expressed in terms of parts per million.
- microstretch noun microscopic stretch (of a microelement of a solid)
- microtoroid noun Any of an array of small ring-shaped structures, normally on the surface of a semiconductor substrate, that function as resonators in…
- microwave resonant cavity thruster noun A theoretical type of drive that does not conform to Newton's Laws of Motion, violating the conservation of momentum, using a resonant…
- microwave spectroscopy noun The study of the interaction of matter with electromagnetic radiation in the microwave region of the spectrum.
- Miller effect noun The increase in the equivalent input capacitance of an inverting voltage amplifier due to amplification of the effect of capacitance…
- miniband noun A periodic structure within a superlattice.
- minigrid noun A component consisting of conductive horizontal and vertical filaments woven together.
- Minkowski diagram noun A kind of spacetime diagram in the form of a two-dimensional graph depicting events as happening in a universe consisting of one space…
- Minkowski space noun A four-dimensional real vector space equipped with an inner product of signature (−,+,+,+) or (+,−,−,−), in which special relativity is…
- mirror universe noun A hypothetical universe, a counterpart to this universe but with certain elementary particles reversed in a specific way.
- misclock noun An error in the synchronization or coordination of the sequence or timing of actions by a device.
- misfigure noun The misfigured portion of an optical surface, or the presence of such a portion.
- misrun noun A failed test of oil or gas drilling equipment.
- mixer noun A nonlinear electrical circuit that creates new frequencies from two signals applied to it.
- mobility noun The degree to which particles of a liquid or gas are in movement.
- mode noun A state related to signals or vibrations.
- mode-locked adj Describing a laser in which several modes of oscillation are synchronized so as to generate a strong, short pulse of light.
- model-based design noun A mathematical and visual method of addressing problems associated with designing complex control, signal processing and communication…
- moderate verb To supply with a moderator (substance that decreases the speed of neutrons in a nuclear reactor and hence increases likelihood of fission).
- modified Newtonian dynamics noun A proposed extension to Newtonian dynamics that would obviate the need to assume the presence of dark matter.
- modulate verb To vary the amplitude, frequency or phase of a carrier wave in proportion to the amplitude etc of a source wave (such as speech or music).
- modulation noun Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: modification of an electromagnetic wave or other oscillating carrier wave to apply a signal to it…
- modulus noun A coefficient that expresses how much of a certain property is possessed by a certain substance.
- modulus of elasticity noun A quantity that measures an object or substance's resistance to being deformed elastically (i.e. non-permanently) when a stress is applied…
- molar adj Of or relating to a complete body of matter as distinct from its molecular or atomic constituents.
- mole noun In the International System of Units, the base unit of amount of substance; the amount of substance of a system which contains exactly…
- molecular dipole noun a polar molecule; either permanent (in the absence of an applied field) or induced (produced by an applied field)
- molecular orbital theory noun A method of determining the structure of a molecule by assuming that electrons are not fixed to bonds between individual atoms
- moment noun Ellipsis of moment of force.
- moment of force noun The turning effect of a force applied to a rotational system at a distance from the axis of rotation. The moment is equal to the magnitude…
- moment of inertia noun A measure of a rigid body's resistance to change in its angular velocity around a given axis.
- momentless adj Without a moment, or turning force.
- momentum noun Of a body in motion: the tendency of a body to maintain its inertial motion; the product of its mass and velocity, or the vector sum of the…
- monocentric noun A monocentric lens.
- monochromated scanning transmission electron microscope noun A scanning transmission electron microscope that is able to focus electrons to a probe of about 0.14 nm and thus distinguish individual…
- monochromatization noun The production of a beam of radiation, containing a narrow band of frequencies, as the result of monochromatizing or by passing through a…
- monochromator noun An optical device, consisting of one or more slits, that selects a narrow band of wavelengths from a broader spectrum.
- monogon noun A single-faceted reflector.
- monophase adj Having a single phase of alternating current.
- monopole noun A magnetic monopole.
- monoscope noun A device that produced a single video image
- monotonicity noun The state of being monotonic.
- monotropic adj Describing any material that exists in multiple forms, only one of which is stable at all temperatures and pressures.
- Morison equation noun A semiempirical equation for the in-line force on a body in oscillatory flow, used to estimate the wave loads in the design of oil…
- mosaicity noun A measure of the long-range disorder of a crystal.
- Mössbauer effect noun the resonant and recoil-free emission and absorption of gamma rays by atoms in the solid state; the basis of a type of spectroscopy with…
- mostly plus adj in general relativity, describing the convention in which the metric tensor has a signature of (-,+,+,+).
- mot noun Initialism of microwave oven transformer.
- motion noun A change whereby something goes from one place to another; a state of progression from one place to another; a change of position with…
- motion parallax noun The illusion of higher speed travel of a foreground object moving, when it is closer to the observer/camera, than when it is further away.
- multiar noun A device which produces an output signal when a varying voltage applied at one input exceeds an adjustable constant voltage applied at…
- multicaloric adj Showing reversible temperature change as a result of a change in at least two distinct applied fields. For example, a material both…
- multichimera noun A complex spatiotemporal pattern consisting of multiple coexisting domains of synchronized dynamics within a domain of incoherent dynamics…