Igrant that it would perplex a physicist. The physicist has a proprietary approach to language and feels that he and his brother scientists define words as they would be useful to themselves, jargon, as it were. They can speak their own language among themselves.
If you don't want to sound like a knownothing - when discussing technical areas it is best to use the appropriate jargon - lest it prompt correction and clarification that you presumably were neither needful nor appreciate of.
That is all. Carry on.