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Glossary of Physics Terms beginning with letter I
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ICF initialism w:inertial confinement fusion, inertial confinement fusion w:insulated concrete forms, insulated concrete forms w:Internet Connection Firewall, Internet Connection Firewall ideal gas noun (physics) a hypothetical gas, whose molecules exhibit no interaction, and undergo elastic collision with each other and with the walls of the container ideal gas law noun (physics) the equation of state of an ideal gas - PV = nRT impedance noun (physics) A measure of the opposition to the flow of an alternating current in a circuit; the sum of its resistance, inductive and capacitive reactance (physics, usually with "mechanical") a measure of opposition to motion of something subjected to a force. (physics, usually with "acoustic" or "sound") the sound pressure divided by the particle velocity and the surface area through which an acoustic wave propagates. (context, by analogy, software engineering, usually with "mismatch") a measure of the opposition caused by differences between two paradigms, especially between object oriented development and relational databases 1997, Bhavani M. Thuraisingham, Data Management Systems: Evolution and Interoperation (ISBN 0849394937), CRC Press, page 33: : Some argue that having mismatch is difficult for programming intensive applications. 2002, Jim Melton, Advanced SQL:1999: Understanding Object-Relational and Other Advanced Features (ISBN 1558606777), Morgan Kaufmann, page 353: : But the mismatch between SQL and Java was no better than betweel SQL and other languages. 2004, Scott W. Ambler, The Object Primer: Agile Model-Driven Development with UML 2.0 (ISBN 1397805218), Cambridge University Press, page 442: : Why does a technological mismatch exist? impenetrable adjective not penetrable The fortress is , so it cannot be taken. incandescence noun (physics) the emission of visible light by a hot body the light so emitted (context, by extension) great emotion incandescent adjective emitting light as a result of being heated shining very brightly showing intense emotion, as of a performance etc inclinometer noun An instrument that displays the angle of an aircraft relative to the horizon An instrument that measures magnetic dip; a dip circle A surveying instrument that measures angles of inclination or elevation; a clinometer incoherent adjective not coherent incombustible adjective Not capable of catching fire and burning; not flammable. indeterminacy principle noun (physics) an alternative name for the Heisenberg uncertainty principle induce verb (induc, ing) to cause; persuade; force infrared noun electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than visible light, but shorter than microwave radiation, having a wavelength between 700 nm and 1 mm adjective Having the wavelength in the infrared. In the infrared spectrum. infrasonic adjective (context, of sound waves) Having frequencies below the human audible range (context, of a device) Generating or employing such sound waves infrasonics noun the study, and the application of infrasound infrasound noun (physics) sound waves having frequency below the human audible range (below about 20 Hz) intensity noun (intensities) the quality of being intense the degree of strength (physics) time-averaged energy flux (the ratio of average power to the area through which the power "flows"); irradiance (optics) can mean any of radiant intensity, luminous intensity or irradiance (astronomy) syn. radiance interfere verb (rfc-level, Verb at L4+ not in L3 POS section) (interfer, ing) (intransitive) to get involved or involve oneself causing disturbance I always try not to with other people"s personal affairs. (intransitive) (physics) (of waves) to be correlated with each other when overlap, overlapped or superpose, superposed Correlated waves to produce interesting patterns, while uncorrelated waves overlap without interfering. Where the radio-wave signals of the two radio stations the listener hears nothing but noise. interference noun The act of interfering with something, or something that interferes. (sports) The illegal obstruction of an opponent in some ball games. They were glued to the TV, as the referee called out a fifteen yard penalty for . (physics) An effect caused by the superposition of two systems of waves, such as a distortion on a broadcast signal due to atmospheric or other effects. They wanted to the game on TV, but there was too much to even make out the score on the tiny screen. intermediate vector boson noun (particles) Any of the three fundamental particles (the two W-bosons and the Z-boson) that transmit the weak nuclear force and have a mass about 100 times that of a proton. intramolecular adjective (chemistry),(physics) between different parts of the same molecule Ionic proper noun A sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek consisting of Old Ionic and New Ionic. adjective of or related to Ionians (architecture) of an order of classical Greek architecture; the Ionic order ionize verb (ioniz, ing) (context, chemistry, physics) To dissociate atoms or molecules into electrically charged species; to be thus dissociated. ionizing radiation noun high-energy radiation that is capable of causing ionization in substances through which it passes; also includes high-energy particles irradiate verb (irradiat, ing) (transitive) To throw rays of light upon; to illuminate; to brighten; to adorn with luster. Thy smile irradiates* yon blue fields.* --Sir W. Jones. (transitive) To enlighten intellectually; to illuminate; as, to irradiate the mind. (transitive) To animate by heat or light. (transitive) To radiate, shed, or diffuse. A splendid faade,... irradiating* hospitality.* --H. James. (intransitive) To emit rays; to shine. (transitive) To treat (food) with ionizing radiation in order to destroy bacteria adjective illuminate, Illuminated; irradiated; made brilliant or splendid. irradiation noun act of irradiating, or state of being irradiated. illumination; irradiance; brilliancy. fig.: mental light or illumination. the apparent enlargement of a bright object seen upon a dark ground, due to the fact that the portions of the retina around the image are stimulated by the intense light; as when a dark spot on a white ground appears smaller, or a white spot on a dark ground larger, than it really is, esp. when a little out of focus. a process of sterilisation whereby radiation is passed through a bag containing food, utensils, etc., to sterilise the contents. isobar noun (Weather) A line drawn on a map or chart connecting places of equal or constant pressure. In meteorology, it most often refers to a line drawn through all points of equal atmospheric pressure along a given reference surface, such as a constant height surface (notably mean-sea-level on surface charts); the vertical plane of a synoptic cross section, or a map of the air unaffected by surface heating or cooling. The pattern of isobars has always been a main feature of surface chart analysis. Until recently it was standard procedure to draw isobars at 3-millibar intervals. However, the advent of constant pressure charts for upper-air analysis has brought about the use of 4-millibar intervals to simplify the conversion from surface isobars to 1,000-millibar contour lines. (physics) either of two nuclides of different elements having the same mass number thermodynamics. A set of points or conditions at constant pressure isobaric adjective having the same pressures, masses, or densities (physics) (of a thermodynamic process) having a constant pressure throughout isoelectronic adjective (chemistry) (of two compounds) having the same electronic configuration although consisting of different elements Ammonia borane is with ethane. isomer noun (chemistry) Any of two or more compounds with the same molecular formula but with different structure. (physics) Any of two or more nuclei with the same mass number and atomic number but with different radioactive properties. isomerism noun (chemistry) the phenomenon of the existence of isomers - the existence of different substances with the same molecular formulae isometric noun A line connecting isometric points. adjective Of, or exhibiting equality in dimensions Of, or being a geometric system of three equal axes lying at right angles to each other (especially in crystallography). (physiology) Of or involving muscular contraction against resistance in which the length of the muscle remains the same (physics) (of a thermodynamic process) taking place at constant volume because of being confined by rigid boundaries isostasy noun (geology) the buoyancy of the Earth's continents floating on the magma isotherm noun A line of equal or constant temperature on a graph or chart, such as a weather map. isotone noun (physics) either of a number of nuclides of different elements that have the same number of neutrons isotropic adjective (physics) having properties that are identical in all directions; exhibiting isotropy

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