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College Physics

Glossary

College PhysicsGlossary

capacitance: amount of charge stored per unit volt

capacitor: a device that stores electric charge

defibrillator: a machine used to provide an electrical shock to a heart attack victim's heart in order to restore the heart's normal rhythmic pattern

dielectric: an insulating material

dielectric strength: the maximum electric field above which an insulating material begins to break down and conduct

electric potential: potential energy per unit charge

electron volt: the energy given to a fundamental charge accelerated through a potential difference of one volt

equipotential line: a line along which the electric potential is constant

grounding: fixing a conductor at zero volts by connecting it to the earth or ground

mechanical energy: sum of the kinetic energy and potential energy of a system; this sum is a constant

parallel plate capacitor: two identical conducting plates separated by a distance

polar molecule: a molecule with inherent separation of charge

potential difference (or voltage): change in potential energy of a charge moved from one point to another, divided by the charge; units of potential difference are joules per coulomb, known as volt

scalar: physical quantity with magnitude but no direction

vector: physical quantity with both magnitude and direction

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- Authors: Paul Peter Urone, Roger Hinrichs
- Publisher/website: OpenStax
- Book title: College Physics
- Publication date: Jun 21, 2012
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/1-introduction-to-science-and-the-realm-of-physics-physical-quantities-and-units
- Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/college-physics/pages/19-glossary

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