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 8 of 32: from “demod” to “dual-frequency”.
- demod verb To demodulate.
- demultiplexer noun A device or piece of software used to separate signals that were previously combined using a multiplexer.
- density noun A measure of the mass of matter contained by a unit volume.
- denucleation noun The process of removing of gas nuclei from the liquid solution by the application of hydrostatic pressures.
- depinning noun The loss of a one-to-one relationship between the atoms of two surfaces as the surfaces move relative to each other.
- deplete verb To decrease the amount of an isotope (in a mixture of isotopes).
- depopulate verb To remove the components from a circuit board.
- deposition noun The transformation of a gas into a solid without an intermediate liquid phase (reverse of sublimation)
- dequantize verb To treat a quantum mechanical system in terms of classical mechanics.
- derma ray noun A weak radioactive ray arising from the impact of cathode particles with the molecules of gas contained in an X-ray tube or with the glass…
- deshelving noun The process in which electrons change to an orbital with a lower, intermediate level of excitation.
- deshielding noun The situation, in NMR spectroscopy, in which a local magnetic field is strengthened by the presence of neighbouring nuclei
- desublimate verb To undergo desublimation; to change directly from a gas to a solid.
- detection noun The act or process of finding or detecting an electrical signal in a carrier wave.
- deterministic adj Having exactly predictable time evolution.
- detuning noun The difference between actual frequency and resonance frequency.
- deuterium noun An isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron in each atom - 21H.
- dex noun An order or factor of ten.
- diamagnetic adj Exhibiting diamagnetism; repelled by a magnet.
- diamagnetism noun a weak form of magnetism that is only observed in the presence of an external magnetic field; due to an induced magnetic field in an…
- diaphanous adj Isorefractive, having an identical refractive index.
- diaphragm verb To reduce lens aperture using an optical diaphragm.
- diascopic adj Describing an optical device in which light traverses (rather than being reflected by) the object being observed.
- diathermy noun The generation of heat using high-frequency electromagnetic currents; especially the therapeutic production of heat in tissues in order to…
- dichroism noun The property of some anisotropic materials of having different absorption coefficients for light polarized in different directions…
- dichromatic adj having two hues, either of which may be visible depending on both the concentration of the absorbing substance and the depth or thickness…
- dichronism noun A misspelling of dichroism
- dielectric noun An electrically insulating or nonconducting material considered for its electric susceptibility, i.e. its property of polarization when…
- diffraction noun The bending of a wave around an obstacle.
- diffraction grating noun a surface having many closely spaced lines or slits; used to produce optical spectra by mutual interference
- diffraction pattern noun the pattern of lines or spots produced by diffraction; especially the two-dimensional pattern produced by X-ray diffraction that may be…
- diffuser noun Any device that or spreads out or scatters light, making the light appear softer.
- diffusibility noun A measure of the speed of diffusion.
- diffusion noun The scattering of light by reflection from a rough surface, or by passage through a translucent medium.
- diffusivity noun a coefficient of diffusion; especially the amount of heat that passes through a given area in unit time
- diffuson noun A mathematical object relating to diffusive motion, used in the theory of electron transport in disordered systems.
- digit trunk noun Synonym of bus (“an electrical conductor or interface serving as a common connection for two or more circuits or components”)
- digital decay noun The gradual process by which information online or in digital storage disappears or becomes inaccessible.
- digital electronics noun A field of electronics involving the study of digital signals and the engineering of devices that use or produce them.
- digital meter noun A type of measuring device which records the use of electricity and water, and which then electronically reports the usage to a utility…
- digression noun An elongation, a deflection or deviation from a mean position or expected path.
- dilatancy noun The phenomenon of some substances whose viscosity increases with shear rate, or with pressure.
- dilatant adj Exhibiting dilatancy.
- dilaton noun A hypothetical scalar field, analogous to the photon.
- dimension noun One of the physical properties that are regarded as fundamental measures of a physical quantity, such as mass, length and time.
- dimensional analysis noun The study of the dimensions of physical quantities; used to obtain information about large complex systems, and as a means of checking…
- diocotron instability noun A plasma instability created by two sheets of charge slipping past each other, in which energy is dissipated in the form of two surface…
- diode noun An electronic device that allows current to flow in one direction only; used chiefly as a rectifier.
- DIP switch noun A miniature switch designed to be attached to a circuit board to customize the behavior of the circuit.
- dipolar adj Having north and south magnetic poles.
- dipole noun Any object (such as a magnet, polar molecule or antenna) that is oppositely charged at two points (or poles).
- dipositronium noun The short-lived combination of two positronium exotic atoms that are bound together in the same way as a hydrogen molecule
- Dirac equation noun A relativistic wave equation that describes an electron (and similar particles); it predicted the existence of antiparticles
- Dirac string noun A hypothetical one-dimensional curve in space, stretching between two Dirac magnetic monopoles with opposite magnetic charges, or from one…
- direct current noun An electric current that always flows in the same direction but may differ in intensity over time.
- directivity noun A measure of the performance of an antenna compared to an isotropic antenna; the ratio of the maximum value of radiation intensity to the…
- director noun A component of a Yagi–Uda antenna.
- disable verb To deactivate, to make inoperational (especially of a function of an electronic or mechanical device).
- discharge verb To release (an accumulated charge).
- disclination noun Any of several defects in rotational symmetry, especially in the orientation of the molecules of a liquid crystal; related to dislocation…
- disconnector noun A switching device used to open an electric circuit when there is no current through it. They are used to isolate a part of an electrical…
- discrete adj Having separate electronic components, such as individual diodes, transistors and resistors, as opposed to integrated circuitry.
- discrete component noun a component with just one circuit element, either passive (resistor, capacitor, inductor) or active (transistor or vacuum tube).
- discriminator noun Any of several electronic devices that convert some property of a signal into an amplitude whose value is proportional to the difference…
- disentangler noun Any device or system that removes entanglement.
- disgregation noun A measure of the separation of the particles of a system; an early formulation of entropy.
- disperse verb To separate rays of light, etc., according to wavelength; to refract.
- dispersion noun The separation of waves of different frequency in space or time; the amount of such separation.
- dispiration noun A singularity associated with screw symmetry or a screw displacement, especially in liquid crystals and crystalline polymers; related to…
- displacement noun A vector quantity which denotes distance with a directional component.
- displacement current noun The direction and rate of change of the electric displacement field at a given point of space and time. It can be expressed as a vector.
- dissipate verb To cause energy to be lost through its conversion to heat.
- dissipation noun A loss of energy, usually as heat, from a dynamic system.
- dissipation function noun The function governing the rate at which mechanical energy is converted to heat during viscous flow.
- distortion noun An aberration that causes magnification to change over the field of view.
- distribution function noun A function of seven variables of the form f(x,y,z,t;v_x,v_y,v_z) that gives the number of particles per unit volume in single-particle…
- dither verb To use dot patterns in an image or graphic to simulate colors or shades not in the system palette.
- DM noun Abbreviation of dark matter.
- DNP noun Initialism of dynamic nuclear polarization.
- dock noun A device designed as a base for holding a connected portable appliance for providing the necessary electrical charge for its autonomy, or…
- domain noun A small region of a magnetic material with a consistent magnetization direction.
- domain wall noun An interface separating magnetic domains.
- dope verb To add a dopant such as arsenic to (a pure semiconductor such as silicon).
- doped adj Describing a semiconductor that has had small amounts of elements added to create charge carriers.
- Doppler broadening noun The broadening of the spectral lines of a high-temperature or rapidly-rotating object due to redshifting of spectral lines from atoms and…
- double-slit experiment noun An experiment demonstrating that light and matter can satisfy the seemingly incongruous classical definitions for both waves and particles…
- doughnut noun A toroidal vacuum chamber.
- down quark noun A quark having a fractional electric charge of -1/3 and a mass of about 4 to 8 MeV.
- downconversion noun The interaction of a photon with a medium in which it is converted into two photons of lower frequencies such that energy is conserved.
- downlead noun An electrical cable connecting an outdoor structure to an indoor or in-ground structure.
- downstrike noun A (usually unintended) branch of current that arcs downward to ground.
- drag noun Resistance of a fluid to something moving through it.
- drag coefficient noun A dimensionless quantity quantifying the amount of hydrodynamic drag force experienced by an object with a given area immersed in a fluid…
- drain noun One terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
- drizzle noun Very small, numerous, and uniformly dispersed water drops, mist, or sprinkle. Unlike fog droplets, drizzle falls to the ground.
- drop tower noun A tower, containing a long evacuated tube, within which objects can be dropped experimentally.
- dropleton noun A quasiparticle, in the form of a quantum droplet of electrons and holes within a semiconductor, that shows some behaviour typical of a…
- DTE noun Distance to Empty
- dual adj Exhibiting duality.
- dual-frequency adj Able to operate on two different electrical frequencies.