| A | B |
|---|
| wave | disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another |
| medium | any substance that a wave moves through |
| mechanical waves | waves that transfer energy through matter |
| transverse wave | wave which the disturbance moves at right angles, or perpendicular, to the direction in which the wave travels |
| longitudinal wave | wave travels the same direction as the disturbance |
| crest | highest point, or peak, of a wave |
| trough | lowest point, or valley, of a wave |
| amplitude | distance between a line through the middle of a wave and a crest or trough |
| wavelength | distance from one wave crest to the very next crest |
| frequency | number of waves passing a fixed point in a certain amount of time |
| reflection | bouncing back of a wave after it strikes a barrier |
| refraction | bending of a wave as it enters a new medium at an angle other than 90 degrees |
| diffraction | the spreading out of waves through an opening around the edge of an obstacle |
| interference | the meeting and combining of waves |
| sound | wave produced by a vibrating object and travels through matter |
| vibration | a rapid, back and forth motion |
| vaccum | empty space in which sound travels |
| pitch | characteristic highness or lowness of a sound |
| Hertz | one complete wave/cycle per second |
| Doppler effect | change in perceived pitch that occurs when the source or receiver of a sound is moving |
| decibel | unit used to measure intensity |
| amplification | increasing of the stregth of an electrical wave |
| sonar | instraments that use echolocation to locate objects |
| electromagnetic wave | disturbance that transfers energy without needing a medium |
| radiation | energy that moves in the form of EM waves |
| electromagnetic spectrum | range of all electromagnetic frequencies |
| radio waves | EM waves with longest wave lengths and lowest frequencies |
| visible light | part of EM spectrum that human eyes can see |
| infrared light | part of the spectrum that consists of EM frequencies between microwaves and visible light; some ranges of IR can be detected by humans with skin |
| ultraviolet light | part of EM spectrum consists of frequencies above those of visible light and partially below those of x-rays |
| x-rays | frequency of 10^16- 10^21 |
| gamma rays | highest frequency EM wave |
| bioluminescence | production of light by living organisms |
| flourescence | when materials absorb EM radiations of one wavelength and gives off EM radiation to another |
| transmission | passage of an EM wave through a medium |
| absorption | dissapearance of an EM wave into the medium |
| scattering | spreading of light rays in all directions |
| prism | a tool that uses refraction to spread out the different wave lengths that make up white light |
| primary colors of light | red, green, and blue |
| primary pigments | cyan, yellow, and magenta |
| optics | study of visable light and ways in which visible light interacts with the eye to produce vision |
| diffuse reflection | reflection of parallel light rays in many different directions |
| image | picture of an object formed by waves of light |
| convex | parallel light rays move away from each other |
| concave | parallel light rays move toward each other |
| focal point | the point at which the rays of light meet |
| lens | clear optical tool that refracts light |
| cornea | transparent membrane that covers the eye where light enters |
| pupil | circular opening; size is controlled by iris |
| retina | part of the eye that contains specialized cells that respond to light |
| laser | device that produces an intense, concentrated beam of light that is brighter than sunlight |
| fiber optics | technology based on the use of laser light to send signals through transparent glass wires passed through these |
