Understanding Energy and Its Transformations
Energy in Material Systems
A system is an organized set of interacting elements that utilize an energy source and exhibit global properties. A material system is a defined portion of the universe under consideration. The scale of these systems ranges from the universe to submicroscopic particles, spanning astronomical (1021), macroscopic (100), microscopic (10-4), and submicroscopic (10-14) levels.
Energy and Change
Energy is the capacity of material systems to produce interactions that cause alterations
Read MoreElectromagnetic Forces and X-Rays: Principles and Generation
Electromagnetic Waves
When studying the material world and analyzing the forces on it, we can establish four very different types of forces: gravitational, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear. The gravitational force appears to us, except in sensitive specific experiences, when there are large concentrations of matter. These are important forces on a global and supraplanetary scale. Our most common experience of them is our own weight and that of bodies around us. This weight is not simply the attraction
Read MoreUnderstanding Radio Wave Transmission, Antennas, and Satellite Reception
The Waveform
The waveform for radio transmission is sinusoidal for both electric and magnetic fields. A complete cycle includes a rise to a positive peak, descent to zero, a further descent to a negative peak, and a rise back to zero. A half-cycle is a semiciclo. The period is the duration of one cycle (s). Wavelength is represented as λ. A half-wave is half of this measure. Fundamental frequency indicates how many times a cycle repeats per unit of time (Hz) for non-sinusoidal signals.
Electromagnetic
Read MoreRadioactivity and Nuclear Physics: Exploring Atomic Nuclei
X-rays pass through solid materials, can ionize the air, do not refract in glass, and are not deflected by magnetic fields. They are high-frequency electromagnetic waves emitted by energizing the innermost orbital electrons of atoms.
French physicist Henri Becquerel tried to determine whether some elements spontaneously emitted X-rays.
He found that most elements had no effect, except uranium, which produced rays. It was soon discovered that similar rays were emitted by other elements, such as thorium,
Read MoreUnderstanding Light Behavior: Optics Principles
Optics
The branch of physics that studies the behavior of light, its characteristics, and manifestations. It examines how light interacts with matter.
Ray Optics
In physics, geometrical optics uses Snell’s phenomenological laws of reflection and refraction. Geometrical optics employs the concept of a light beam.
Physical Optics
The branch of optics that treats light as a wave and explains phenomena not explained by considering light as a ray.
Theories About the Nature of Light
Light has a complex nature:
Read MoreElectromagnetism Fundamentals: Charges, Fields, and Circuits
Coulomb’s Law
The magnitude of each electrical force between two stationary point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of both charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Coulomb’s law is valid only in stationary conditions, i.e., when there is no charge movement or when the movement occurs at low speeds and in uniform rectilinear trajectories. This is why it is called electrostatic force.
In mathematical terms, the magnitude 
force that