stereospecificity

stereospecificity (countable and uncountable, plural stereospecificities)

(physical chemistry) The property of a chemical reaction that yields specific stereoisomers as products.

(organic chemistry, physical chemistry) The property of a polymer that has a specific spatial arrangement of its constituent atoms.


stereospecific

en-adj

stereospecific (comparative more stereospecific, superlative most stereospecific)

more stereospecific (comparative)
most stereospecific (superlative)

(physical chemistry) Showing stereospecificity.


galvanic

galvanic (comparative more galvanic, superlative most galvanic)

more galvanic (comparative)
most galvanic (superlative)

From French galvanique, named after Italian physiologist Luigi Aloisio Galvani (1737–1798) + -ique.

named-after

Physicians used galvanic currents, which required only a galvanic power source, and faradic treatments, which utilized an "alternating" induction coil.

2005, Carolyn Thomas de la Pena, chapter 3, in The Body Electric: How Strange Machines Built the Modern American:

Of a current that is not alternating, as opposed to faradic.


power supply

A source of power such as the mains or a generator.


shielding

en-noun

shielding (countable and uncountable, plural shieldings)

(spectroscopy) The situation, in NMR spectroscopy, in which a local magnetic field is weakened by the presence of neighbouring nuclei


damping

damping (countable and uncountable, plural dampings)

(mechanics) The reduction in the magnitude of oscillations by the dissipation of energy

(mechanics) The stabilization of a physical system by reducing oscillation

amortissement

the stabilization of a physical system by reducing oscillation


low Earth orbit

low Earth orbit (plural low Earth orbits)

A satellite orbit around the Earth within the altitude range of ~ 200 - 2000 km, in which a satellite can communicate with Earth with a small time lag and energy consumption. Abbreviation: LEO.


teravolt

(physics) One million million ( 10¹² ) volts, abbreviated as TV.


saturation temperature

saturation temperature (plural saturation temperatures)

(physics) The boiling point of a liquid.


supermultiplet

(physics) A set of quantum mechanical states, each of which has the same value for a certain quantum number (or numbers) but different values for another related one


susceptance

(physics) the imaginary component of the admittance of an alternating current circuit


superfluidity

superfluidity (usually uncountable, plural superfluidities)

(physics) The frictionless flow that is characteristic of a fluid with zero viscosity, especially liquid helium at temperatures near absolute zero.


microfarad

(physics) One millionth ( 10⁻⁶ ) of a farad, abbreviated as µF.


superluminal

The first thing to understand about superluminal expansion is that it isn't visible to the unaided eye. The objects that appear to be moving faster than light are emitting radio waves, not visible light.

1984, Edward Edelson, “Faster than light?”, in Popular Science, retrieved 2013-11-20, page 70:

(astronomy, physics, fiction, fantasy) Faster than light; having a speed greater than light.

(unpreferred translation due to hyperphoton, hyperphotonic: υπερφωτονικός m (yperfotonikós), υπερφωτονική f (yperfotonikí), υπερφωτονικό n (yperfotonikó))


Bunsen pile

(physical chemistry) An early electrical battery using multiple cells of zinc and graphite in dilute chromic acid


Bunsen cell

(physical chemistry) An early electrical battery using zinc and graphite in dilute chromic acid


supercritical

en-adj

supercritical (comparative more supercritical, superlative most supercritical)

more supercritical (comparative)
most supercritical (superlative)

critical temperature
critical temperature

(physics) Of a substance or system above a critical threshold or range

(physics, of a fluid) Above its critical temperature and critical pressure.

超臨界的

of a gas, above its critical temperature and critical pressure

(physics, of a fissile material) Having a mass sufficient to sustain an accelerating fission chain reaction.

(aerodynamics) Above the speed of sound.


supersaturation

en-noun

supersaturation (countable and uncountable, plural supersaturations)

(physics) The condition of a solution being more highly concentrated than is normally possible.

saturation vapour pressure
saturation vapour pressure

(physics) the condition of a vapour having a higher saturation vapour pressure than is normally possible.


thermoacoustics

(physics) the study of phenomena influenced by thermodynamics and acoustics


microphysics

(physics) That branch of physics that deals with objects smaller than a molecule


shear stress

shear stress (countable and uncountable, plural shear stresses)

(physics) the component of stress that causes parallel layers of a material to move relative to each other in their own planes.


superposition

superposition (countable and uncountable, plural superpositions)

(quantum mechanics) The situation in quantum mechanics where two or more quantum states are added together (superposed) to yield another valid quantum state.


superfluid

(physics) A substance, such as liquid helium, that exhibits superfluidity.


micromirror

2006, Nature 444, 71-74 (2 November), Letters to Editor
Radiation-pressure cooling and optomechanical instability of a micromirror

(physics) A very small, highly reflective mirror, often supported on a torsion beam, used in a variety of applications and in research on radiation and quantum effects.


lossless

en-adj

lossless (comparative more lossless, superlative most lossless)

more lossless (comparative)
most lossless (superlative)

Free from loss, especially not losing electrical energy or force.


transmission medium

en-noun

transmission medium (plural transmission media)

(physics) any material substance which can propagate waves or energy


gravitomagnetism

(physics) The property of a spinning mass that twists spacetime.


gravitomagnetic

electromagnetic field
electromagnetic field

(physics) Describing the component of a gravitational field analogous to the magnetic component of an electromagnetic field

(physics) Of or pertaining to gravitomagnetism


radioactive waste

radioactive waste (countable and uncountable, plural radioactive wastes)

Dealing with all the radioactive waste left on site is a slow-motion race against time, which will last so long that even the grandchildren of those working on site will not see its end. The process will cost at least £121bn.

December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian:

For 75 years, it has fulfilled a wide range of roles: producing weapons-grade plutonium for early atomic weapons in the aftermath of the Second World War; the world's first commercial nuclear power station supplying electricity to the National Grid; reprocessing and storage of nuclear fuel; and the processing of lower grades of radioactive waste for off-site storage.

2023 December 27, Ben Jones, “Inside Sellafield... by rail”, in RAIL, number 999, page 20:


thermomagnetic

(physics) Of or pertaining to any of several phenomena occurring when an electrical conductor or semiconductor is placed in a temperature gradient and a magnetic field.


thermochemistry

(physical chemistry, thermodynamics) The study of the thermodynamics of chemical reactions.

termoquímica

the study of the thermodynamics of chemical reactions


thermocouple

(physics) A transducer consisting of two different metals welded together at each end; a voltage is produced that is proportional to the difference in temperature between the two junctions (one of which is normally held at a known temperature)


asymmetric centre

asymmetric centre (plural asymmetric centres)

(physical chemistry) An atom having a spatial arrangement of ligands which is not superposable on its mirror image


tidal bore

A wave, in the form of a wall of water, formed by an incoming tide funnelling into an estuary.

mascaret

a wall of water formed by an incoming tide funnelling into an estuary


time constant

(physics) The time in which a physical system's response to a step-wise change in an external variable reaches approximately 63% of its final (asymptotic) value.

aikavakio

physics: characteristic of step response


radiological weapon

radiological weapon (plural radiological weapons)

A weapon, often a bomb, designed to achieve injury or contamination of a target by dispersing harmful radioisotopes.

放射性武器

bomb that injures or contaminates through radioisotopes


activation energy

activation energy (plural activation energies)

(physical chemistry, physics) The energy required to initiate a reaction. For example, the flame from the fuse of a firecracker provides a small initial amount of energy, after which the explosive reaction proceeds by itself, releasing a considerably larger quantity of energy. A small push given to a stable but top-heavy object may cause it to fall over; the potential energy released during the fall was present in the system all along but could not be realized as long as the object was upright and balanced.


rhomboid protease

rhomboid protease (plural rhomboid proteases)

(biochemistry) Any of several enzymes that cleave proteins within biological membranes allowing release of effector domains from the membrane


transuranium element

transuranium element (plural transuranium elements)

The main theme of TRL [Transuranium Research Laboratory] research with transuranium elements has been the exploration of a region of the periodic table that is relatively new and inaccessible to most scientists. […] Our research with the heavy elements has extended our knowledge considerably and tested our ideas concerning how the periodic table is constructed.

1983 spring, Richard Hahn, “Life at the End of the Periodic Table”, in Carolyn Krause, editor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review, volume 16, number 2, Oak Ridge, Tenn.: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25, column 1:

(chemistry) Any element having an atomic number greater than that of uranium.


transition point

transition point (plural transition points)

(fluid dynamics) The point in space at which fluid flow around an object changes from laminar to turbulent.


swampland

swampland (countable and uncountable, plural swamplands)

(physics, countable) The set of effective low-energy physical theories that are not compatible with quantum gravity.


plutino

From Plut(o) + -ino (“diminutive suffix”), meaning "little Pluto" (compare neutrino); coined by David C. Jewitt, et al.

We present a study of the dynamical evolution of plutinos recently escaped from the resonance through numerical simulations. It was shown in previous works the existence of weakly chaotic orbits in the plutino population that diffuse very slowly finally diving into a strong chaotic region.

2010, Romina P. Di Sisto, Adrián Brunini, Gonzalo C. de Elía, “The contribution of plutinos to the Centaur population”, in Julio A. Fernández, Daniela Lazzaro, Dina Prialnik, Rita Schulz, editors, Icy Bodies of the Solar System: IAU Symposium S263, Cambridge University Press, page 89:

This is dubbed a 3:2 resonance (with Neptune), Pluto being the largest Plutino.
About one fourth of the KBOs are Plutinos. Plutinos may be debris from the collision of another KBO with Pluto, resulting in the formation of Pluto's largest moon, Charon.

2018, C Sivaram, Kenath Arun, Kiren O V, Current Trends in Astrobiology, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, page 39:

(astronomy) Any planetoid in the Kuiper belt whose orbit, like that of Pluto, has a resonance of 3:2 with that of Neptune.

冥族小天體

planetoid in orbit with 3:2 resonance to that of Neptune


substation

Meanwhile, an upgraded power supply at Sundon substation, between Leagrave and Harlington, will be commissioned concurrent with the overhead line connection and will be sufficient to power the initial electrified Corby services.

2019 October, Philip Sherratt, “Midland Main Line upgrade presses on”, in Modern Railways, page 62:

A site where electricity supplied by long-distance (high-voltage) transmission lines is transformed and/or regulated for local (low-voltage) distribution.


pellicle

From Latin pellicula, from pellis (“skin”). Doublet of pellicule.

(optics) A thin plastic membrane used as a beam splitter or protective cover.


degree of freedom

degree of freedom (plural degrees of freedom)

(physics) Any of the coordinates, a minimum number of which are needed to specify the motion of a mechanical system.

сте́пен на свобо́да

minimum number of coordinates usable to describe a mechanical system

(physics) Any of the independent variables required to specify the thermodynamic state of a system containing components and phases.

vapausaste

independent variable required to specify the thermodynamic state


brewster

stress optical coefficient
stress optical coefficient

(optics) A unit of stress optical coefficient which is equal to 10⁻¹² m²/N or 10⁻¹² Pa⁻¹. Symbol: B.


BeV

(physics, US) Initialism of billion electron volt, 10⁹ eV. A unit used for measuring the energy of subatomic particles.


nanospintronics

(physics) The application of spintronics using nanoscale devices


half-metal

(physics) Any substance that acts as a conductor to electrons of one spin orientation, but as an insulator to those of the opposite orientation


half-metallic

(physics) Of or relating to a half-metal.


costate

(mathematics, physics) An equation or variable related to the state equation of an optimal control problem in a dynamical system.


-ino

From Italian -ino (“-ine, -o: forming diminutives”), from the dative form of Latin -īnus. In its use in physics, originally after the model of earlier neutrino, coined by Enrico Fermi in 1933. Internet slang usages gained currency in the second half of the 2010s.

bor

The supersymmetric partner of the photon is a photino.

In supersymmetry theory, all bosons have fermionic counterparts, known as bosinos.

(physics) The fermionic supersymmetric partner of a boson (a bosino), symbolized by a tilde over the nonsupersymmetric particle symbol.


acrosin

(biochemistry) A proteolytic enzyme, found in the acrosome of spermatozoa, that enables penetration of the egg.


geophysicist

(geology, physics) A physicist who specialises in geophysics.


thermonuclear weapon

en-noun

thermonuclear weapon (plural thermonuclear weapons)

A weapon whose power is derived from nuclear fusion at high temperature


warp factor

From the science-fiction series Star Trek.

(science fiction) A hypothetical figure indicating a space vessel's speed greater than the speed of light.


anisoplanatism

(optics) The absence of spatial invariance over an extended field of view


nuclear power

nuclear power (countable and uncountable, plural nuclear powers)

(uncountable) Power, especially electrical power, obtained using nuclear fission or nuclear fusion.


alpha emission

(physics) A form of radioactivity in which alpha particles are emitted from the nucleus of an atom

alfasäteily

emission of alpha particles from the nucleus of an atom


FTIR

w:Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

(physics) Initialism of fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.

(physics) Initialism of frustrated total internal reflection.


interphase

en-adj

interphase (comparative more interphase, superlative most interphase)

more interphase (comparative)
most interphase (superlative)

As the work of adhesion is equal to the sum of surface tensions of both phases minus the interphase tension on the interface, its increase is evidence of lowering of exactly the interphase tension, as the surface tension of slag is practically independent of the partial pressure of oxygen P_(O2) in the gas phase and P_(O2) influence on adhesion is entirely determined by the features of the metal-slag interface.

1998, V. R. Ryabov, Surface Phenomena in Welding and Surfacing, →ISBN, page 23:

The interphase mass transfer processes between the gas and the liquid phases together with chemical transformations are applied for syntheses of new materials [2], separations of gas mixtures by absorption [3] and for heat potential augmentation in the heat pumps.

2000, C.B. Boyadjiev, V.N. Babak, Non-Linear Mass Transfer and Hydrodynamic Stability, →ISBN, page 171:

The main conclusions are that interphase spacers prevent flashovers due to galloping and ice loads and that there are still galloping displacements and the resulting dynamic loads but large amplitude motions appear to have been eliminated.

2008, Masoud Farzaneh, Atmospheric Icing of Power Networks, →ISBN, page 214:


liquid scintillation

(physics) The scintillation of a solvent molecule when a radioactive solute molecule undergoes beta decay and emits an electron


deexcite

en-verb

deexcite (third-person singular simple present deexcites, present participle deexciting, simple past and past participle deexcited)

deexcites (present singular third-person)
deexciting (participle present)
deexcited (participle past)
deexcited (past)

(physics) To decrease the energy of something

(physics) To move an atom etc to a lower energy level


beta decay

en-noun

beta decay (countable and uncountable, plural beta decays)

(nuclear physics) A nuclear reaction in which a beta particle (electron or positron) is emitted.


eigenmode

(physics) One of the normal vibrational modes of an oscillating system.


harmonics

(physics, music) The science of musical sounds


(physics) A radioactive isotope of polonium, ²¹⁰₈₄Po, having a half-life of 138 days; it as used as a reference alpha emitter in the calibration of radiation counters


spallation

spallation (countable and uncountable, plural spallations)

(nuclear physics) A nuclear reaction in which a nucleus fragments into many nucleons.

hajoaminen

physics: nuclear reaction in which a nucleus fragments into many nucleons


scintillation

scintillation (countable and uncountable, plural scintillations)

(nuclear physics) The flash of light produced by something (especially a phosphor) when it absorbs ionizing radiation.


discriminator

(physics) Any of several electronic devices that convert some property of a signal into an amplitude whose value is proportional to the difference between the value of the input signal and that of a standard.


(physics) A radioactive isotope of thorium, ²²⁸₉₀Th, having a half-life of 1.9 years; it occurs naturally in small amounts, as member of the thorium-232 decay chain.


radiothorium

(physics) The radioactive isotope thorium-228


remanence

remanence (countable and uncountable, plural remanences)

From remanent (“that which remains”) + -ence.

(physics) The magnetization left behind in a medium after an external magnetic field is removed.


nondipole

(physics) Not pertaining to, or caused by a dipole.


radiobioassay

(medicine) The analysis of radioactive material in the body or excreta


radiogold

(medicine) The radioactive isotope of gold, ¹⁹⁸₇₉Au, used in medical irradiation and in diagnosis


radiobiology

(biology) The study of the effects of ionizing radiation on living organisms


diffusivity

(physics) a coefficient of diffusion; especially the amount of heat that passes through a given area in unit time


radiocolloid

Any colloid one or more of whose components is radioactive


radiodermatitis

(medicine) dermatitis caused by ionizing radiation


radiohydrology

The study of hydrology as used in the processing of radioactive materials.


radioimmunity

A reduced susceptibility to damage from radioactivity.


radioactively

en-adv

radioactively (comparative more radioactively, superlative most radioactively)

more radioactively (comparative)
most radioactively (superlative)


radiotracer

(sciences) A radioactive tracer; a radiolabel


radioimmunotherapy

en-noun

radioimmunotherapy (countable and uncountable, plural radioimmunotherapies)

immunotherapy using antibodies labelled with radioisotopes


(physics, medicine) The radioactive isotope of iodine, ¹³¹₅₃I, having a half-life of eight days; used as a medical tracer


radiolabel

en-verb

radiolabel (third-person singular simple present radiolabels, present participle radiolabeling or radiolabelling, simple past and past participle radiolabeled or radiolabelled)

radiolabels (present singular third-person)
radiolabeling (participle present)
radiolabelling (participle present)
radiolabeled (participle past)
radiolabeled (past)
radiolabelled (participle past)
radiolabelled (past)

To tag a substance (especially a biological substance) with a radioactive tracer


radiogenic

en-adj

radiogenic (comparative more radiogenic, superlative most radiogenic)

more radiogenic (comparative)
most radiogenic (superlative)

Of, pertaining to, or caused by radioactivity.


radioimmunoassay

radioimmunoassays (plural)
as RIA (abbreviation)

A procedure that uses the binding of a radioactively labeled substance to an antibody in order to analyze minute amounts of biological compounds.


radioimmunology

The study of immunology using antigens or antibodies labelled with radioisotopes.


radioiodine

en-noun

radioiodine (countable and uncountable, plural radioiodines)

Thyroid cells, in contrast to other cells, have the capability to organify iodine, which increases the time radioiodine can deposit energy.

2008, Kevin J. Harrington, Richard G. Vile, Hardev S. Pandha, Viral Therapy of Cancer, page 336:

(physics, medicine) The radioactive isotope of iodine, ¹³¹₅₃I, having a half-life of 8 days; used as a medical tracer


radioimmunodiffusion

(biology) immunodiffusion using antigens or antibodies labelled with radioisotopes


bond distortion

bond distortion (plural bond distortions)

(physical chemistry) Any change in the lengths of chemical bonds, and in the angles between them, caused by steric hindrance and similar forces


neighbouring group participation

neighbouring group participation (plural neighbouring group participations)

neighbouring group participations (plural)

anchimeric assistance
anchimeric assistance

(physical chemistry) Any of many effects in organic chemistry in which the course of a reaction, or its rate, is affected by the presence of a neighbouring functional group; anchimeric assistance


radiolesion

Any lesion produced by ionizing radiation.


radioligand

Any molecule that has a radioactive tracer attached, especially one used for radioimmunoassay


radiomutation

(genetics) A genetic mutation due to the effects of ionizing radiation


radionucleotide

Any nucleotide labelled with a radioactive tracer.


radionecrosis

radionecrosis (countable and uncountable, plural radionecroses)

Any necrosis caused by exposure to ionizing radiation.


radiolysis

radiolysis (countable and uncountable, plural radiolyses)

(chemistry) The dissociation of a molecule as a result of radiation


radioelement

(physics) Any element whose currently known isotopes are all radioactive.


radion

(physics) The radius modulus of an extra dimension in a compactification. Coined in 1998 by Nima Arkani-Hamed, Savas Dimopoulos, and John March-Russell in the paper "Stabilization of Sub-Millimeter Dimensions: The New Guise of the Hierarchy Problem".


radiopharmacology

The science of the manufacture and use of radiopharmaceuticals


radiopharmaceutical

(pharmacology) Any radioactive substance used as a pharmaceutical


radiological

Of or pertaining to radiation, radioactivity or nuclear weapons.


radioresistant

en-adj

radioresistant (comparative more radioresistant, superlative most radioresistant)

more radioresistant (comparative)
most radioresistant (superlative)

Having a certain amount of radioresistance


radioprotection

Any form of protection against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, especially caused by artificial sources.


radiosensitivity

The relative sensitivity of cells or organisms to any form of radiation, but especially to the harmful effects of ionizing radiation


radioresistance

en-noun

radioresistance (countable and uncountable, plural radioresistances)

Any form of resistance that an organism has to protect itself against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation


semipermeable

en-adj

semipermeable (comparative more semipermeable, superlative most semipermeable)

more semipermeable (comparative)
most semipermeable (superlative)

Permeable to some things and not to others, as a cell membrane which allows some molecules through but blocks other substances.

полупропусклив

permeable to some things and not to others


radiotoxic

radiotoxic (comparative more radiotoxic, superlative most radiotoxic)

more radiotoxic (comparative)
most radiotoxic (superlative)


radio-

e.g. radiotherapy, radioactinium, radiolucent


yellow cake

en-noun

yellow cake (countable and uncountable, plural yellow cakes)

(mineralogy) Alternative form of yellowcake


trichroism

The property of some optically anisotropic crystals of transmitting different colours of light in three different spatial directions.


electron tube

(electricity) Any of several electronic devices that control electron current through vacuum, gas or vapor between electrodes within a sealed container, usually of glass or metal and often designed to be easily installed in and removed from the equipment in which it is used.


path length

(physics) The distance travelled by light in a specified context.


Tyndall effect

From John Tyndall, Irish natural philosopher.

(physics) The visible scattering of light along the path of a beam caused by discontinuities such as suspended particles.


tunnel diode

(physics) A semiconductor diode that has negative resistance in the forward direction of its operating range due to quantum effects.

diode à effet tunnel

semiconductor diode with negative resistance


koinomatter

From Ancient Greek κοινός (koinós, “common”) + matter.

(physics) Normal matter, as opposed to antimatter.


condensation product

condensation product (plural condensation products)

condensation reaction
condensation reaction

(physical chemistry) The product of a condensation reaction.


upsilon particle

upsilon particle (plural upsilon particles)

(physics) Any of a number of bound states of a heavy quark and its antiquark, especially that formed from a bottom quark and an anti-bottom quark.


valence band

(physics) The highest range of electron energies in an insulator or semiconductor that can be populated; it corresponds to the valence electrons of the constituent atoms


colloidal

en-adj

colloidal (comparative more colloidal, superlative most colloidal)

more colloidal (comparative)
most colloidal (superlative)

(physical chemistry) Of, pertaining to, or consisting of a colloid.


skin effect

(physics) The tendency of an alternating current to distribute itself in a conductor such that the current density is greater near the surface than near the core.

集膚效應

tendency of alternating current to distribute itself


virial theorem

(physics) A theorem in mechanics showing the relationship between the kinetic energy of a system to the virial of Clausius.


uraninite

(mineralogy) Any of several brownish-black forms of uranium dioxide, UO₂, (especially pitchblende) that is the chief ore of uranium; it is isomorphous with thorianite.


bandgap

The problem has been the lack of what is known as a bandgap. Semiconductors have bands of higher and lower energies and a point – the bandgap – at which excited electrons can hop from one to the other. This effectively allows switching on and off of the flow of current, so it is either conducting or not conducting, creating the binary system of zeroes and ones used in digital computers. […] Now, Walter de Heer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and his colleagues have created graphene with a bandgap and even demonstrated a working transistor, an on/off switch that either prevents or allows current to flow through it.

2024 January 4, Matthew Sparkes, “First working graphene semiconductor could lead to faster computers”, in New Scientist, retrieved 2024-01-18:

(physics) The energy difference between two allowed ranges of electron energy in a solid; especially the difference between the energies of the valence band and the conduction band.

The propagation of an acoustic wave inside a phononic crystal is forbidden in the bandgap frequency range due to Bragg scattering.

(physics) A gap in a frequency range in which waves cannot propagate.


conduction band

en-noun

conduction band (plural conduction bands)

In a semiconductor material like silicon, something very interesting happens because the current is not only carried by electrons in the conduction band.

2011, Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw, The Quantum Universe, Allen Lane, published 2011, page 160:

(physics) The range of electron energies in an insulator or semiconductor in which electrons can move freely and transport charge.


immunisation

immunisation (countable and uncountable, plural immunisations)

"Secondly, we have to find more cost-effective ways of electrifying. And we've had a real breakthrough in the last couple of years in terms of bridge clearances and immunisation, meaning we've been able to take hundreds of millions of pounds off the cost of electrification.

2020 May 20, Andrew Haines talks to Stefanie Foster, “Repurpose rail for the 2020s”, in Rail, page 33:

electrical engineering
electrical engineering

(rail transport, electrical engineering) The process of immunising signalling and traction power supplies so they don't interfere with each other.


zero gravity

Coined by Austro-Hungarian-American artist Jack Binder in his 1938 picture feature "If Science Reached the Earth's Core", printed in the October 1938 issue of the science-fiction pulp-magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories as part of a series of similar "If—" articles.

Starting at the zero-gravity of earth's core, accumulative acceleration is easily built up in a four-thousand-mile tube.

1938 October, Jack Binder, “If Science Reached the Earth's Core”, in Thrilling Wonder Stories, volume 12, number 2, page 9:

A gravity-free world, or zero gravity, or weightlessness is ... a relative thing.

1968, William J. Masica, “Zero-Gravity Effects”, in Nasa Technical Memorandum, page 3:

The tricky part is dressing while floating in zero gravity!

2015, James Buckley Jr., Home Address, ISS:

The state of apparent weightlessness which occurs in a very low gravity field, or in free fall.


ball lightning

ball lightning (usually uncountable, plural ball lightnings)

A short-lived glowing ball sometimes observed to float in the air and thought to consist of ionized gas associated with thunderstorms.

llamp en bola

a short-lived, glowing ball sometimes observed to float in the air


circuit breaker

circuit breaker (plural circuit breakers)

From the evidence of witnesses and of the recorded passing times, including the time at which the circuit breakers were tripped when the wires were brought down, the train was travelling at a speed of not less than 70 m.p.h.

1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Derailment near Holmes Chapel”, in Trains Illustrated, page 652:

Typically traction packages monitor the supply frequency and if it strays outside pre-set limits open the circuit breaker between the pantograph and the transformer to shut off the power.

2019 October, Roger Ford, “Power failure highlights specification confusion”, in Modern Railways, page 27:

(electricity) An electrical switch capable of opening and closing an electrical circuit in all operating conditions, including fault situations.

overcurrent protective device
overcurrent protective device

(electricity) More specifically, a circuit breaker that automatically breaks overcurrent conditions; a type of overcurrent protective device.

interruttore magnetotermico

specific type of overcurrent protective device


interrupting time

interrupting time (countable and uncountable, plural interrupting times)

(electricity, of a circuit breaker) The time between the trip circuit energization and power arc interruption.


grounding

grounding (countable and uncountable, plural groundings)

(electrical engineering) The interconnecting metal chassis/frame of a device, appliance, machine, or metal raceway via a designated conductor to earth at the service panel. It may be bare or covered, and does not carry current in normal operation.

maadoitus

electrical engineering: interconnection of metal chassis of a device to earth


snow line

Chris Ormel, an astronomer at the University of Amsterdam, and his colleagues recently calculated that protoplanets began to form at the snow line around the star, then grew quickly by accreting pebbles.

2018 April 26, Alexandra Witze, “Earth May Have Been Formed by a Bunch of Tiny Space Pebbles”, in The Atlantic:

(astrophysics) The inner limit where volatile molecules can remain frozen in the zone around a star.

(astrophysics, specifically) The limit for water remaining solid instead of evaporating away under solar radiation.


radio frequency

radio frequency (countable and uncountable, plural radio frequencies)

electromagnetic spectrum
electromagnetic spectrum

(uncountable) That part of the electromagnetic spectrum, between about 3 kHz and 300 MHz, within which radio waves are transmitted.

radiofrekvence

part of the electromagnetic spectrum within which radio waves are transmitted


monochromator

(physics) An optical device, consisting of one or more slits, that selects a narrow band of wavelengths from a broader spectrum.


lab on a chip

lab on a chip (plural labs on a chip or labs on chips)

labs on a chip (plural)
labs on chips (plural)
as: LOC (abbreviation)

(chemistry, physics) A chip, combining semiconductor and microfluidics technologies, capable of handling and analyzing very small quantities of a sample, especially of bodily fluids for medical purposes.


monochromated scanning transmission electron microscope (plural monochromated scanning transmission electron microscopes)

(physics) A scanning transmission electron microscope that is able to focus electrons to a probe of about 0.14 nm and thus distinguish individual atoms.


scanning transmission electron microscope (plural scanning transmission electron microscopes)

(physics) An electron microscope that transmits a very narrow beam of electrons through a sample; it can detect individual large or heavy atoms.

electron microscope that transmits a narrow beam

scanning transmission electron microscopy


Helmholtz function

For Hermann von Helmholtz, German physicist.

Helmholtz free energy
Helmholtz free energy

(physics) The equation used to express Helmholtz free energy


heat death of the universe

the heat death of the universe (canonical)

thermodynamic equilibrium
thermodynamic equilibrium

(cosmology, thermodynamics) A theoretical future state of the universe in which the universe attains thermodynamic equilibrium and a further increase of entropy is no longer possible.


entropic doom

(informal, physics) The result of the second law of thermodynamics in which the entropy of the universe steadily increases until thermal equilibrium is reached, energy is uniformly dispersed, and no life exists.


Helmholtz free energy

A=U-TS where A is Helmholtz free energy, U is internal energy, T is temperature, and S is entropy.

absolute temperature
absolute temperature

(physics, thermodynamics) A measure of the useful work obtainable from a constant temperature, constant volume thermodynamic system; more precisely, the difference between internal energy (of a system) and the product of its absolute temperature and entropy.

Helmholtz free energy
Hermann von Helmholtz

亥姆霍茲自由能

measure of the useful work from a constant temperature system etc.


single-phasing

(electrical engineering) The abnormal operation of a three-phase machine when its supply is changed by the accidental opening of one conductor.


dielectric absorption

dielectric absorption (usually uncountable, plural dielectric absorptions)

(physics) The retention of polarization of a dielectric material after removal of the electric field.


laser-plasma accelerator

laser-plasma accelerator (plural laser-plasma accelerators)

(physics) A kind of plasma accelerator that uses an amplitude-modulated intense laser beam to excite a large-amplitude plasma wave that propagates at near the speed of light with a longitudinal acceleration electric field.

激光等离子体加速器

a kind of plasma accelerator that uses a laser beam


no-load

(electricity) Not supplying power; open-circuited.


Pauli exclusion principle

the Pauli exclusion principle (canonical)

(physics) A principle in quantum mechanics that states that no two identical fermions may occupy the same quantum state simultaneously.

Pauli exclusion principle
Wolfgang Pauli


incidence

incidence (countable and uncountable, plural incidences)

From Middle French incidence, from Medieval Latin incidentia (“a falling upon”), from Latin incidens, present participle of incidere (“to fall upon”), from in (“on”) + cadere (“to fall”).

der

(physics) The striking of radiation or a projectile upon a surface.


plane angle

(geometry) An angle formed by two intersecting straight lines.

rovinný úhel

(geometry) An angle formed by two intersecting planes, measured by the angle between two intersecting straight lines that are in respective planes and perpendicular to the intersection of the planes.


suborbital

The first rocket test was suborbital; it didn't even get off the ground but rather exploded on the launchpad.

Not reaching orbit; having a trajectory that does not reach orbital velocity and so must return to ground eventually.


foo fighter

From foo, either a nonce word or a corruption of the French word feu (“fire”), + fighter (“type of aircraft”).

unidentified flying object
unidentified flying object

Any of various unidentified flying objects, as reported by Allied pilots during World War II.


atomic theory

(physics) The theory that all gross matter is composed of atoms.

atomisme

(physics) Any of several theories that explain the structure of the atom, and of subatomic particles.

atoomtheorie

theory that explains the structure of the atom


theory of relativity

en-noun

theory of relativity (plural theories of relativity)

equivalence of matter and energy
equivalence of matter and energy

Einstein field equation
Einstein field equation

(physics) The theories of special relativity and general relativity, two theories in physics developed mainly by Albert Einstein at the beginning of the 20th century from which several important results such as the equivalence of matter and energy and the Einstein field equations are derived.


collimated

en-adj

collimated (comparative more collimated, superlative most collimated)

more collimated (comparative)
most collimated (superlative)

Low-mass objects have much more collimated flows than high mass sources.

1984, Charles J. Lada, “Energetic Outflows, Winds and Jets around Young Stars”, in M. F. Kessler, J. P. Phillips, editors, Galactic and Extragalactic Infrared Spectroscopy, page 266:

2008 May, A. M. Soderberg, et al., An extremely luminous X-ray outburst at the birth of a supernova, Accepted draft, page 3,
Wolf-Rayet stars are also argued⁹ to give rise to gamma-ray bursts, a related but rare class of explosions characterized by highly-collimated relativistic jets.

Although the most collimated outflows look very much jet-like at the highest velocities, their behavior is much more classical at lower speeds.

2011, R. Bachiller, M. Tafalla, “Bipolar Molecular Outflows”, in Charles J. Lada, N.D. Kylafis, editors, The Origin of Stars and Planetary Systems, page 240:

Closing the aperture results in more collimated light, as only light traveling in the right direction can make it through the smaller opening.

2012, Kurt Demaagd, Anthony Oliver, Nathan Oostendorp, Katherine Scott, Practical Computer Vision with SimpleCV: The Simple Way to Make Technology See, page 222:

(physics, of a light beam) Composed of rays that are parallel, thus having a wavefront that is planar.


fractionation

en-noun

fractionation (countable and uncountable, plural fractionations)

From fraction + -ation or fractionate + -ion.

(radiotherapy) The division of a total dose of radiation into fractions.


doubly magic

(nuclear physics, of a transuranic nuclide) Having filled shells of both protons and neutrons and therefore having extra stability and a longer half-life than normal.


(physics) A doubly magic isotope of hassium - ²⁷⁰₁₀₈Hs; it is the longest-lived one known, having a half-life of several seconds.


surface plasmon

surface plasmon (plural surface plasmons)

electromagnetic wave
electromagnetic wave

(physics) A quantized electromagnetic wave trapped at a metallic surface through interaction with the free electrons of the metal.


haloenzyme

(biochemistry) Any enzyme that is activated by a cofactor.


accretion shock

accretion shock (plural accretion shocks)

(astronomy) A spherical shock wave that arises when material spirals inward to a gravitational source such as a star or black hole.


decoherent

en-adj

decoherent (comparative more decoherent, superlative most decoherent)

more decoherent (comparative)
most decoherent (superlative)

/diːkəʊˈhɪəɹənt/


dilatancy

en-noun

dilatancy (countable and uncountable, plural dilatancies)

(physics) The phenomenon of some substances whose viscosity increases with shear rate, or with pressure.


subwavelength

(physics) (of an optical component) Having dimensions less than the wavelength of the light employed.


subwavelength

(physics) A wavelength that is a fraction of another


apoenzyme

(biochemistry) An inactive haloenzyme lacking a cofactor.

apoentsyymi

an inactive haloenzyme lacking a cofactor


(physics) An artificially produced radioactive isotope of potassium, ⁴³₁₉K, having a half-life of 22 hours; used in medicine as a tracer


potassium-argon dating

potassium-argon dating (usually uncountable, plural potassium-argon datings)

(geology) A method of estimating the age of igneous rocks or of archaeological objects by measuring the amount of argon that has built up through the radioactive decay of potassium.


dilatant

en-adj

dilatant (comparative more dilatant, superlative most dilatant)

more dilatant (comparative)
most dilatant (superlative)


dilatant

(physics) A substance whose viscosity increases with rate of shear.


(physics) A naturally-occurring radioactive isotope of potassium, ⁴⁰₁₉K, having nineteen protons and twenty-one neutrons, and a half-life of 1.3 billion years; it is the chief source of natural radioactivity in living tissue


glass electrode

en-noun

glass electrode (plural glass electrodes)

(chemistry, physics) Any of several electrodes, having a thin glass bulb, whose potential is dependent upon the concentration of hydrogen or other ions in the solution in which it is immersed; used in pH meters etc.


ion selective electrode

ion selective electrode (plural ion selective electrodes)

(chemistry, physics) An electrode whose potential is dependent on the concentration of a specific ion in the solution in which it is immersed.


(physics) An artificially produced radioactive isotope of potassium, ⁴²₁₉K, having a half-life of 12.4 hours; used in medicine as a tracer


radioactive decay

radioactive decay (countable and uncountable, plural radioactive decays)

(physics) Any of several processes by which unstable nuclei emit subatomic particles and/or ionizing radiation and disintegrate into one or more smaller nuclei.


X-ray fluorescence

X-ray fluorescence (countable and uncountable, plural X-ray fluorescences)

(physics) The emission of electrons from a material when exposed to X-rays.


decoherence

decoherence (countable and uncountable, plural decoherences)

/diːkəʊˈhɪəɹəns/

Foundations of Physics
H. Dieter Zeh
quantum decoherence

First attested 1902 (OED) in the electrical engineering sense "the resetting of a coherer." From decohere (also 1902) + -ence, representing the verbal noun (compare decohesion, decoherency). The quantum mechanics concept was introduced in 1970 by German physicist H. Dieter Zeh, writing in the journal Foundations of Physics.

There is a sense in which simple interference effects are destroyed when a system's environment becomes correlated with its state. This phenomenon is called decoherence. I shall consider three approaches here. According to one, decoherence alone explains why we get determinate records. According to another, decoherence helps one to formulate a satisfactory interpretation of Everett by selecting a globally preferred basis that makes the right physical facts determinate in each Everett branch. According to a third, decoherence sects a locally preferred basis for each observer that makes the right physical facts determinate from the perspective of that particular observer.

1999, Jeffrey A. Barrett, The Quantum Mechanics of Minds and Worlds, Oxford University Press, page 221:

We have already alluded to decoherence in connection with the emergence of classical space-time, the ‘collapse′ of the wave function (Case 3) and the notion of entanglement. Physicists have hailed the discovery of decoherence as ‘the most important advance in the foundation of quantum theory since Bell's inequalities.’¹³¹ This praise is based on good reasons: (a) decoherence offers new ways of understanding quantum mechanics for it embodies a critique of entrenched terminology (‘collapse’ of the wave function, complementarity); (b) it is testable since it appeals to physical processes; (c) it offers an insight into a much more fundamental level of quantum indeterminacy.

2004, Friedel Weinert, The Scientist as Philosopher: Philosophical Consequences of Great Scientific Discoveries, Springer, page 272:

A detailed investigation of decoherence during gating due to a bosonic environment was performed in the original work of Loss and DiVincenzo. Since then, there have been many studies of leakage and decoherence in the context of the quantum-dot quantum computing proposal.

2008, D. Klauser, W. A. Coish, Daniel Loss, “Quantum-Dot Spin Qubit and Hyperfine Interaction”, in Rolf Haug, editor, Advances in Solid State Physics, 46, Springer, page 20:

One way of preventing both decoherences is to set up the system in a "non-decoherent quantum state."

2015, Fernanda Samaniega, “Manipulating Spins: Causality and Decoherence”, in Uskali Mäki, Ioannis Votsis, Stéphanie Ruphy, Gerhard Schurz, editors, Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki, Springer,, page 191:

(quantum mechanics) Loss of quantum coherence (phase relation between the quantum states of particles) in a physical system as it interacts with its environment.


VOC

(electronics, physics) V_(OC) — Initialism of open-circuit voltage.


singlet

A set of one, an item not part of a larger set, particularly:

(physics) A multiplet having a single member, especially a single spectroscopic peak.

2003, Timothy M. Cox, 90: Protoporphyria, Karl M. Kadish, Kevin M. Smith, Roger Guilard, (editors), The Porphyrin Handbook, Volume 14: Medical Aspects of Porphyrins, page 132,
When a ground state molecule absorbs a photon, the values of the electron spins are not altered and thus the primary excited state is the singlet state.

However, even if it were possible to supply benzophenone with radiation of the appropriate wavelength to produce the second excited singlet state of the molecule, this singlet would rapidly convert to the lowest singlet state (S1).

2010, Donald L. Pavia, Gary M. Lampman, George S. Kriz, Randall G. Engel, A Small Scale Approach to Organic Laboratory Techniques, page 416:

(physics, quantum mechanics) A quantum state having zero spin.

یکتایی

quantum mechanics: quantum state having zero spin


supercontinuum

(physics) light having both high spatial coherence and broad spectral bandwidth; i.e. laser light that is not monochromatic


isothermal

(thermodynamics) Of or pertaining to a process that takes place at constant temperature

isoterminen

of or pertaining to a process that takes place at constant temperature


wave field synthesis

The use of mathematics and a large number of loudspeakers to accurately reproduce a given field of sound.


acoustooptics

(physics) The science that studies the diffraction of light by ultrasonic sound.

akusto-optiikka

the science that studies the diffraction of light by ultrasonic sound


wavefront

(physics) An imaginary surface passing through points of a medium oscillating in phase.


activation analysis

activation analysis (plural activation analyses)

(physical chemistry) Any of several similar radiochemical techniques of analysis in which a subatomic particle or gamma ray is captured by a nuclide to form a second stable nuclide which is then measured.

analyse par activation

technique in which a subatomic particle or gamma ray is captured by a nuclide


adaptive optics

(astronomy, optics) An optical system in telescopes that reduces atmospheric distortion by dynamically measuring and correcting wavefront aberrations in real time, often by using a deformable mirror.


tunneling

tunneling (countable and uncountable, plural tunnelings)

(physics) The quantum mechanical passing of a particle through an energy barrier.


Geiger counter

/ˈɡaɪɡə ˈkaʊntə/

/ˈɡaɪɡɚ ˈkaʊntɚ/

Ernest Rutherford
Geiger counter
Hans Geiger

Named after Hans Geiger who developed the first such device in 1908 together with Ernest Rutherford.

Figure 27 shows a Geiger counter, used to detect ionizing radiation. The counter consists of a thin central wire, carrying a positive charge, surrounded by a concentric circular conducting cylinder, carrying an equal negative charge.

1988, David Halliday, Robert Resnick, Fundamentals of Physics, 3rd edition, page 387:

A device designed to detect radioactivity and measure its intensity.


infall

infall (countable and uncountable, plural infalls)

(astronomy, uncountable) Movement towards a massive astronomical body under the influence of gravity; especially the process whereby gas falls towards a neutron star or black hole at high speed, forming a plasma


aerothermodynamics

(physics) The scientific study of the thermodynamic properties of gases, especially when travelling at a high velocity.


aeroelasticity

aeroelasticity (usually uncountable, plural aeroelasticities)

(physics, uncountable) The scientific study of the effect of aerodynamic loads on structures.

aeroelastisuus

(physics, countable) The effect of aerodynamic load on a given structure.


exotic baryon

(physics) A bound state of 3 quarks and additional particles. These additional particles can be quarks.


condenser

(optics) A lens (or combination of lenses) designed to gather light and focus it onto a specimen or part of a mechanism.


quarkonium

quarkonium (plural quarkoniums or quarkonia)

(physics) A flavorless meson whose constituents are a quark and its own antiquark.


baricity

baricity (usually uncountable, plural baricities)

Baricity is used in anesthesia to determine the manner in which a particular drug will spread in the intrathecal space.

(medicine, physical chemistry) The density of a substance compared to the density of human cerebral spinal fluid.


pentaquark

Evidence for and against the heavier pentaquark states, the #x5C;Xi(1862) and the #x5C;Theta⁰#x5F;c(3100) observed at CERN and at HERA, respectively, are also discussed. I conclude that the evidence against the latter two heavier pentaquark baryons is rapidly increasing making their existence highly questionable.

2006, Volker D. Burkert, “Have Pentaquark States Been Seen?”, in Richard Brenner, Carlos P. De Los Heros, Johan Rathsman, editors, Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies: Proceedings of the XXII International Symposium, Sweden 30 June – 5 July 2005, River Edge, N.J., Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, →ISBN, abstract, page 185:

A more recent famous example of false discoveries is the finding of a new particle called the pentaquark in experiments performed at accelerator laboratories in the mid-2000s. The pentaquark supposedly consists of four quarks and an antiquark bound together—a much different particle than the three quarks making up proton and neutron. Viewing the plots that were published in the literature between 2003 and 2005, we see a significant excess of events for the pentaquark, reaching almost 5 sigma—the gold-plated standard for the confirmation of new particles. Yet, further data and more detailed analysis again made the particle disappear.

2014, John W. Moffat, “Data that Go Bump in the Night”, in Cracking the Particle Code of the Universe: The Hunt for the Higgs Boson, →ISBN, page 113:

It's a particle so elusive that even the world's largest physics experiment could only discover it by accident. The pentaquark has at last been found. […] "Pentaquarks have been reported several times in the past," says [Patrick] Koppenburg, "but they all appeared to be fakes." So when the team at the LHCb experiment detected what looked like the signature of a pentaquark, they were determined to take their time with the analysis. Now they are pretty certain they have it. The signal has a "10 sigma" stamp of accuracy, meaning that there is only a 1 in 10²² chance of it being a statistical fluctuation.

2015 July 15, “Pentaquark discovery at LHC shows long-sought new form of matter [print version: LHC bags another new particle, 18 July 2015, page 7]”, in New Scientist, number 3030:

(physics) Any of a class of subatomic particles (previously hypothetical, since detected, subject to confirmation) consisting of a group of five quarks (compared to three quarks in normal baryons and two in mesons), or more specifically four quarks and one antiquark (symbol Θ).

五夸克態

subatomic particle consisting of five quarks


Alfvén wave

(physics) A hydromagnetic shear wave in a charged plasma.

مَوْجَة أَلْفْفِين

a hydromagnetic shear wave in a charged plasma


shear wave

(physics) A wave that changes the medium through which it travels to change its shape but not its volume or density.


flow battery

(physics) A form of electrochemical storage cell in which electrolyte flows between connected tanks; the direction of flow being opposite when the cell is charging and discharging; used to store electricity from intermittent suppliers such as wind farms.


dark energy

Coined by American cosmologist Michael Turner in 1998, in reference to the earlier term dark matter.

coin

Even Albert Einstein, who first proposed it as the Cosmological Constant in his 1916 General Theory of Relativity, doubted dark energy existed. He called it his "greatest blunder". Now, after a five-year survey of nearly 240,000 galaxies reflecting eight billion years of cosmic history, a team of astrophysicists has shown the elusive force exists. The data were obtained using the Anglo-Australian Telescope, and 26 scientists contributed to the so-called WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey.

2011 May 20, “After study of 240,000 galaxies, dark energy comes to light”, in The Australian:

cosmological constant
cosmological constant

(astronomy, astrophysics) A hypothetical form of energy which, it is supposed, is spread uniformly throughout space (and time) and has anti-gravitational properties: it represents a possible mechanism for the cosmological constant, and thus is one of the possible explanations for the current accelerating rate of expansion of the universe; and it is estimated to account for about 74% of the mass-energy of the universe.

donker energie

hypothetical form of energy which, it is supposed, is spread uniformly throughout space and time and has anti-gravitational properties


many-worlds interpretation

(quantum mechanics) An interpretation of quantum mechanics that claims to resolve all the "paradoxes" of quantum theory by allowing every possible outcome to every event to define or exist in its own "history" or "world".


strangelet

(physics) A proposed fragment of strange matter, consisting of a bound state of roughly equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks.


strange matter

(physics) A proposed form of matter that includes strange quarks in addition to the usual up and down quarks of nuclear matter. Equivalently, a proposed very stable form of matter that protons and neutrons might decay into; matter composed of strangelets.


string theory

en-noun

string theory (countable and uncountable, plural string theories)

String theory denies the existence of a hypothetical eleventh dimension.

(physics) A candidate unified theory of all physical forces and particles; a theory which suggests that subatomic particles are one-dimensional strings rather than zero-dimensional points. It also suggests that space-time can have up to nine dimensions, plus the dimension of time.


formant

Borrowed from German Formant, from Latin fōrmāns (“shaping; forming; fashioning”), present participle of fōrmō (“to shape; to form; to fashion”). Doublet of formans.

der

The resonances of the vocal tract are called formants. Trying to hear the separate formants in a vowel is difficult. We are so used to a vowel being a single meaningful entity that it is difficult to consider it as a sound with separable bits. But it is possible to say vowels so that some of their component parts are more obvious.

2012, Peter Ladefoged, Sandra Ferrari Disner, Vowels and Consonants, Kindle edition, New York: Wiley, →ISBN:

(physics, phonetics) A band of frequencies, in a sound spectrum, that have a greater intensity; they determine the quality of a sound; especially the characteristic sounds of the consonants.


overtone

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-overtone.wav

From over- + tone, calque of German Oberton.

(physics, music) A tone whose frequency is an integer multiple of another; a member of the harmonic series.


catalytic activity

en-noun

catalytic activity (countable and uncountable, plural catalytic activities)

(chemistry) The increase in rate of a chemical reaction caused by the presence of a catalyst.


angel hair

Sense 1 is a semantic loan from Italian capelli d'angelo.

sl

Angel hair consists of thin, cotton-like fibers that are found at the scene of UFO sightings. The strands look like spider webs (which many skeptics assert is precisely what they are) and have been found on houses, on the ground, in trees, and hanging off electrical wires following a UFO sighting.

2019, Stephen Spignesi, William J. Birnes, The Big Book of UFO Facts, Figures & Truth, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

(ufology) A sticky, fibrous substance reported in connection with UFO sightings and other paranormal manifestations.


flavorubredoxin

(biochemistry) A flavoprotein that reduces nitric oxide (NO) to nitrous oxide (N₂O) under anaerobic conditions. It is an oxygen sensitive nitric oxide reductase that contributes to resistance to nitrosative killing by macrophages.


permanent magnet

en-noun

permanent magnet (plural permanent magnets)

(physics) A material, or piece of such material, which retains its magnetism even when not subjected to any external magnetic fields.

püsimagnet

material which retains its magnetism all the time


deflagrate

en-verb

deflagrate (third-person singular simple present deflagrates, present participle deflagrating, simple past and past participle deflagrated)

deflagrates (present singular third-person)
deflagrating (participle present)
deflagrated (participle past)
deflagrated (past)

From the participle stem of Latin deflagrare, from de + flagrare (“to burn”).

(physics) To burn with intense light and heat.

Specifically, to combust subsonically through thermal conduction.


nanophotonics

(physics, optics) The science that studies the behaviour of light, and of optical devices, on a nanometre scale.


butterfly effect

en-noun

butterfly effect (plural butterfly effects)

A Sound of Thunder
Chaos: Making a New Science
Edward Lorenz
Lorenz attractor
Ray Bradbury
butterfly effect

Coined by American author and historian of science James Gleick in 1987 in his book Chaos: Making a New Science, whose first chapter bears the title “The Butterfly Effect”, and in which he discusses “the paradox of the butterfly’s wings” potentially making the difference whether a hurricane will or will not arise somewhere else later. Meteorologist Edward Lorenz, the founder of modern chaos theory, had in 1972, at a scientific meeting, presented a paper entitled “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings set off a tornado in Texas?” without using the specific term butterfly effect. Lorenz also notes that representations of the strange attractor now known as the “Lorenz attractor” resemble a butterfly, as well as that correspondents have drawn his attention to Ray Bradbury’s short science fiction story “A Sound of Thunder”, in which a time traveler’s crushing a butterfly in the Late Cretaceous changes the outcome of a present-day presidential election. But the metaphorical butterfly was actually introduced in the title of the 1972 presentation by meteorologist Philip Merilees, who was not familiar with Bradbury’s story.

coinage

Example of butterfly effect: stepping on a bug 4,000 years ago causes a different person to win the presidential election today.

(by extension, science fiction) The notion that small changes in the past via time travel can cause disproportionately large and unforeseeable consequences in the present.


magnetic equator

en-noun

magnetic equator (plural magnetic equators)

magnetic inclination
magnetic inclination

(electromagnetism) A line drawn on a map or chart connecting all points at which the magnetic dip (or magnetic inclination) is zero for a specified epoch.

магні́тний еква́тор

line connecting all points at which magnetic dip is zero


microcausality

(physics) (in quantum field theory) The spacelike local commutativity or anticommutativity of fields.


anticommutativity

(algebra, physics) The state of being anticommutative.


antiresonance

(physics) the condition, in an electric circuit containing a capacitor and coil in parallel and in which the alternating current line voltage and the resultant current are in phase, in which the impedance approaches infinity.

frithshondas

the condition in which impedance approaches infinity


commutativity

commutativity (usually uncountable, plural commutativities)

(mathematics, physics) The state of being commutative.

kommutativitet

mathematics, physics: The state of being commutative.


anyon

From any + -on, since they can have any phase when particles are interchanged. Coined by Frank Wilczek in 1982 in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The anyon concept has been used to describe phenomena in connection with the fractional quantum Hall effect (FOHE).

1995, Erik B Karlsson, Solid State Phenomena: As Seen by Muons, Protons, and Excited Nuclei:

(physics) Any particle that obeys a continuum of quantum statistics, only two of which are the standard Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics.


quantum computer

quantum computer (plural quantum computers)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-quantum computer.wav

Graphene could change the electronics industry, ushering in flexible devices, supercharged quantum computers, electronic clothing and computers that can interface with the cells in your body.

2014 April 13, Nick Bilton, “Bend it, charge it, dunk it: Graphene, the material of tomorrow”, in The New York Times:

(quantum computing) A computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena to transcend classical time complexity limitations.

量子計算機

computer that relies on quantum mechanical phenomena for speed


macrophysics

(physics) The branch of physics that deals with those phenomena that can be directly observed.


cathodic

From cathode + -ic. Coined by William Whewell in 1837 in a letter to Michael Faraday.

(physics) Of or pertaining to a cathode.


big bang

Millions of big bangs may be happening as we speak.

(astrophysics) An explosion giving rise to a universe.


gas mechanics

(physics) The branch of fluid mechanics that deals with the action of forces on gases.


magnetomechanics

(physics) The branch of physics dealing with the mutual interaction of the strain and magnetization of materials.


hydromechanics

(physics) fluid mechanics, especially when dealing with water


matrix mechanics

(physics) The original formulation of quantum mechanics in which the operators were represented by time-dependent matrices.


exoergicity

The collision exoergicity Q is defined by Q=E'–E, the final minus initial relative kinetic energies.

1933, The Journal of Chemical Physics, the American Institute of Physics:

This is probably due to dissociation induced by the large exoergicity from charge transfer between species that differ greatly in ionization potential.

1981: S. J. Buelow, D. R. Wornsnop, and D. R. Herschbach, Chemistry Department, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Generation of “bastard” molecular ions from van der Waals clusters: Arₙ(C₂Cl₄)ₘ⁺ ions, suspected interlopers in collections of solar neutrinos (published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, volume 78, № 12; December, 1981)

1985: Rodney J. Bartlett, ed, Comparison of Ab Initio Quantum Chemistry With Experiment for Small Molecules
For the reaction exoergicity the Davidson correction has little effect. There is also a problem with the theoretical description of the kinetics of the addition reaction. A Lindemann-Hinshelwood mechanism is typically used to ...

The extent of fragmentation is determined by the internal energy of the ions at formation, which is contributed by the exoergicity of the reaction in addition to the thermal energy available. Thus, more acidic reagents and higher temperatures tend to induce more fragmentation in the negative ion mode, while less acidic reagents tend to produce more fragmentation in the negative ion mode.

1990, Alfred L. Yergey, Liquid Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry: Techniques and Applications:

(chemistry, physics) The difference in bond dissociation energies of a reaction, symbol ΔE₀, such that energy is released.


analytic mechanics

(mathematics, physics) The application of calculus to classical mechanics.

解析力学

the application of calculus to classical mechanics


nonquantum mechanics

(physics) classical or Newtonian mechanics rather than quantum mechanics.


particle mechanics

(physics) The study of the motion of individual particles.


subtilase

subtilase (countable and uncountable, plural subtilases)

(biochemistry) A serine protease similar to subtilisin


wave mechanics

(physics, mathematics) The mathematical basis for quantum mechanics in which light and subatomic particles have the characteristics of both waves and particles.


relativistic mechanics

(physics) The mechanics of objects moving at velocities comparable to the speed of light; is compatible with the special and general theories of relativity.


subtilisin

subtilisin (countable and uncountable, plural subtilisins)

(biochemistry) A protease produced by soil bacteria of the genus Bacillus.


fluid mechanics

(mechanics) The branch of mechanics dealing with gases and liquids, either at rest or in motion.


biomechanics

(biology, physics) The branch of biophysics that deals with the mechanics of the human or animal body; especially concerned with muscles and the skeleton.


nonrelativistic mechanics

(physics) The mechanics of objects moving at velocities considerably less than the speed of light.


phase space

phase space (countable and uncountable, plural phase spaces)

Henri Poincaré
Josiah Willard Gibbs
Ludwig Boltzmann
phase space

The concept was developed in the late 19th century by Ludwig Boltzmann, Henri Poincaré and Josiah Willard Gibbs.

For mechanical systems, the phase space usually consists of all possible values of position and momentum variables.

The phase space of a single material point is a manifold M×V*, and the Newton state-space is identifical^([sic]) with M×V.

1991, Jan J. Slawianowski, Geometry of Phase Spaces, Wiley, page 485:

2006, Matthew Charles Cargo, Phase Space Approaches to Higher Order WKB Approximations, University of California, Berkeley, page 8,
Their energies are those of the level sets p²/2+V(x)=E that enclose an area of 2π hbar (n+1/2) in the classical phase space. Despite embracing a configuration space point of view, these methods have produced a phase space result.

The distribution of particles in phase space is given either by the injector characteristics and injection process or in the case of electron beams by the equilibrium of quantum excitation due to synchrotron radiation and damping.

2007, Helmut Wiedemann, Particle Accelerator Physics, Springer, page 377:

(mathematics, physics, dynamical system theory) Given a (dynamical) system, any topological space such that every point in the space's underlying set uniquely represents a state of the system and every possible state is represented by some point;

Given a (dynamical) system, any topological space such that every point in the space's underlying set uniquely represents a state of the system and every possible state is represented by some point;
(less formally) the underlying set of such a topological space.


activated complex

activated complex (plural activated complexes)

(physical chemistry) A transitional structure, in an energetically excited state, that forms between the reactants of a chemical reaction and breaks down to form the products

geaktiveerde kompleks

transitional structure that forms between reactants and breaks down


autoradiograph

(photography) A photograph image produced by placing a film in contact with a specimen containing (or treated with) radioactive material; an autoradiogram


anticlinal

en-adj

anticlinal (comparative more anticlinal, superlative most anticlinal)

more anticlinal (comparative)
most anticlinal (superlative)

(physical chemistry) Describing a torsion angle between 90° and 150°


Fromase

From French fromage (“cheese”) + -ase, coined as a trademark.

(biochemistry) A protease produced by the soil fungus Rhizomucor miehei, used as a vegetarian alternative to chymosin in the manufacture of some cheeses.


chymosin

en-noun

chymosin (countable and uncountable, plural chymosins)

(biochemistry) The proteolytic enzyme rennin


rennin

rennin (countable and uncountable, plural rennins)

(biochemistry) A proteolytic enzyme, obtained from the gastric juice of the abomasum of calves, used to coagulate milk and make cheese.


comatic

(optics) Of or pertaining to coma (the distortion of a lens).


specific heat capacity

specific heat capacity (plural specific heat capacities)

(thermodynamics) The heat capacity per unit mass.


thermoelectricity

(physics) The direct conversion of heat into electricity

termolletricidá

physics: direct conversion of heat into electricity


band spectrum

(physics) An absorption or emission spectrum consisting of bands of closely-spaced lines; characteristic of polyatomic molecules.


hydrino

A supposed form of hydrogen having a lower energy than that of the normal ground state; postulated to explain the outcome of early cold fusion experiments.


ZFC

zero-field cooling
zero-field cooling#English

(physics) Initialism of zero-field cooling; the act of cooling with no magnetic field applied


From U (“the chemical symbol for uranium”).


From uranium + 235 (“the atomic mass of the isotope”).

af

The Zaporizhzhia plant provided about a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity before Russia’s invasion, and has been forced to operate on backup generators a number of times. It has six Soviet-designed water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing uranium-235.

2022 November 21, Lorenzo Tondo, Peter Beaumont, “Ukraine to start evacuations in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions as winter sets in”, in The Guardian:

(physics) A fissile isotope of uranium, used for energy generation and in atomic weapons, containing one hundred and forty-three neutrons. It has a half-life of 7·038×10⁸ years; it decays into thorium-231 and ultimately lead.


wakefield

plasma wakefield accelerator
plasma wakefield accelerator

(physics) A small area of very strong potential gradient, in a laser beam or plasma stream, used to accelerate charged particles in a plasma wakefield accelerator


plasma wakefield accelerator

en-noun

plasma wakefield accelerator (plural plasma wakefield accelerators)

(physics) A device in which a drive beam (either laser or particle) produces a plasma wave ("wakefield") that accelerates charged particles in a relatively short distance.

plasmakiihdytin

device that accelerates charged particles

プラズマ航跡場加速器

ぷらずまこうせきばかそくき


(physics) An artificial radioisotope of fluorine, ¹⁸₉F, having 9 protons and 9 neutrons, that is an important industrial source of positrons


spinor

(algebra) An element of the fundamental representation of a Clifford algebra that transforms to its negative when the space is rotated through a complete turn from 0° to 360°.


positron emission tomography
positron emission tomography

(physics) A radioactive isotope of nitrogen, ¹³₇N, having seven protons and six neutrons, and a half-life of less than ten minutes; it is used in positron emission tomography. It also plays a role in the CNO cycle.


(physics) A radioactive isotope of sulfur, ³⁵₁₆S, having sixteen protons and nineteen neutrons, and a half-life of about 87 days; it is used as a tracer


(physics) A long-lived radioactive isotope of chlorine, ³⁶₁₇Cl, having seventeen protons and nineteen neutrons, and a half-life of 3x10⁵ years; it can be used to date samples of groundwater


time-independent

(mathematics, physics) Not time-dependent; not determined by the value of a variable representing time.


time domain

(mathematics, physics) The set of values, representing time, over which a function dependent on time is defined.


time dilatation

time dilatation (countable and uncountable, plural time dilatations)

(physics) Alternative form of time dilation (less common)


time-dependent

(mathematics, physics) Determined by the value of a variable representing time.

time-dependent density functional theory


(physics) A naturally-occurring isotope of calcium, ⁴⁸₂₀Ca, having twenty protons and twenty-eight neutrons. It decays very slowly, with a half-life of 4.3x10¹⁹ years. Because it is unusually neutron-rich, it is popular for the manufacture of superheavy elements.


(physics) A radioactive isotope of calcium, ⁴⁵₂₀Ca, having twenty protons and twenty-five neutrons, and a half-life of 162.6 days; it is used as a tracer in studying calcium metabolism. As it decays it undergoes transformation (nuclear transmutation) via electron emission, also called negative beta decay (β−-decay), into scandium.


convex lens

(optics) A lens having at least one convex surface, such that light passing through it may be brought to a focus.


baryonic matter

baryonic matter (usually uncountable, plural baryonic matters)

(physics) Matter composed of baryons and electrons.


baryonic

Of, pertaining to, or composed of baryons.

robust association of massive baryonic objects


cyclase

(biochemistry) Any enzyme that catalyzes the cyclization of a compound


vacuum energy

vacuum energy (countable and uncountable, plural vacuum energies)

(physics) The underlying background energy of empty space associated with constant vacuum fluctuations.


anisotropy energy

anisotropy energy (usually uncountable, plural anisotropy energies)

(physics) Energy stored in a ferromagnetic material as a result of the work done by the rotation of its magnetization


Coulomb energy

Coulomb energy (plural Coulomb energies)

Named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.

(physics) The energy associated with the electrostatic forces of a system of particles, especially with that of the electrons of a covalent bond.


available energy

available energy (countable and uncountable, plural available energies)

(physics) All energy that could somehow be converted to mechanical work.


correlation energy

correlation energy (plural correlation energies)

Hartree-Fock approximation
Hartree-Fock approximation

(physics) The difference between the actual energy of a particular energy level of an atom or molecule and that calculated by the Hartree-Fock approximation


bond energy

bond energy (countable and uncountable, plural bond energies)

bond dissociation energies
bond dissociation energy

(physical chemistry, physics) The sum of the bond dissociation energies of all the bonds in a molecule

(physical chemistry, physics) The average or typical bond dissociation energy of a particular type of bond


bond dissociation energy

bond dissociation energy (countable and uncountable, plural bond dissociation energies)

(physical chemistry, physics) The change in enthalpy that occurs when a specific chemical bond is broken; a measure of the strength of the bond


cohesive energy

cohesive energy (countable and uncountable, plural cohesive energies)

The cohesive energy is a measure of the strength of the forces that bind atoms together in the solid state and is descriptive in studying the phase stability. The cohesive energy[…]is defined as the total energy of the constituent atoms minus the total energy of the compound[…]The computed cohesive energies are 6.101 eV/atom, 4.774 eV/atom and 6.512 eV/atom for BaRh₂, BaPd₂ and BaPt₂, respectively.

2012, A. Yakoubi, O. Baraka, B. Bouhafs, “Structural and electronic properties of the Laves phase based on rare earth type BaM2 (M = Rh, Pd, Pt)”, in Results in Physics, volume 2, →DOI, pages 58-65:

(physics) The difference between the average energy of the free atoms and that of the atoms of a solid (especially a crystal).

(physical chemistry) Standard enthalpy of formation of the constituent atoms from a solid phase.


inexact

en-adj

inexact (comparative more inexact, superlative most inexact)

more inexact (comparative)
most inexact (superlative)

exact

antonym(s) of “precisely or definitely conceived or stated”

exact

antonym(s) of “having a path-dependent integral”

(physics, of a differential) having a path-dependent integral


deformation energy

en-noun

deformation energy (plural deformation energies)

(physics) The energy that must be supplied to an initially spherical atomic nucleus to give it a sufficient deformation to undergo nuclear fission according to the Bohr-Wheeler theory


disintegration energy

disintegration energy (plural disintegration energies)

(physics) The energy released during a nuclear reaction


dissociation energy

dissociation energy (plural dissociation energies)

(physical chemistry) The energy needed to break every chemical bond in a molecule and completely separate all its atoms


eddy kinetic energy

eddy kinetic energy (plural eddy kinetic energies)

(physics) The energy associated with the turbulent part of the flow of a fluid


effective energy

effective energy (plural effective energies)

Consequently the ‘intuitive' theory can be taken directly into the quantum theory of waves, including the nonlinear effective energy density . . .

1995, Arthur I. Miller, Early Quantum Electrodynamics:

(physics) The energy of a heterogeneous (polychromatic) photon beam calculated as if it were monochromatic


electrostatic energy

electrostatic energy (countable and uncountable, plural electrostatic energies)

(physics) The potential energy of a system of separated electric charges.


excitation energy

excitation energy (plural excitation energies)

(physics) The energy needed to change something from the ground state to any particular excited state


elastic energy

elastic energy (plural elastic energies)

(physics) The potential energy stored in a system when it is distorted or deformed; the classic example is that of a coiled spring


electric energy

electric energy (countable and uncountable, plural electric energies)

(physics) The potential energy of an electric charge in an electric field, or of an electric current in a magnetic field.


electromagnetic energy

electromagnetic energy (countable and uncountable, plural electromagnetic energies)

(physics) The potential energy of an electric or magnetic field.


timelike

en-adj

timelike (comparative more timelike, superlative most timelike)

more timelike (comparative)
most timelike (superlative)

(mathematics, physics) Of a four-vector in representing a point in spacetime, having a positive or negative four-vector norm for the metric signature (+, -, -, -) and (-, +, +, +) respectively.

(physics) (of the interval between two events in spacetime) Having overlapping light cones, so that information can pass from one to the other, and one can be envisaged as a cause of the other.

zeitartig

physics: of the interval between two events in spacetime


Fermi energy

(physics) The highest energy of a particle that is part of a many-particle system of identical fermions in its ground state.


interfacial energy

en-noun

interfacial energy (plural interfacial energies)

(physics) The energy equal to the surface tension at an interface.


ionization energy

ionization energy (plural ionization energies)

(physical chemistry, physics) The energy needed to remove an electron from an atom or molecule to infinity


lattice energy

lattice energy (countable and uncountable, plural lattice energies)

(physics) The energy required to separate the ions of an ionic solid (especially a crystal) to infinity


magnetic energy

magnetic energy (plural magnetic energies)

(physics) The potential energy of a magnetic field.


Gibbs free energy

For Josiah Willard Gibbs, American physicist.

ΔG=ΔH-TΔS and G=H-TS where G is Gibbs free energy, H is enthalpy, T is temperature, and S is entropy.

(physics, physical chemistry, thermodynamics) The difference between the enthalpy of a system and the product of its entropy and absolute temperature: a measure of the useful work obtainable from a thermodynamic system at constant temperature and pressure.

energia lliure de Gibbs

difference between the enthalpy of a system and the product of its entropy etc.


free energy

(physical chemistry) The energy available in a particular chemical system to do useful work. In more detail:

Helmholtz free energy, A: the internal energy of a system minus the product of its entropy and absolute temperature.

Gibbs free energy, G: the enthalpy of a system minus the product of its entropy and absolute temperature.


mass energy

Even a minuscule quantity of matter contains an incredible amount of mass energy.

(physics) The energy present in an object because of its mass


luminous energy

luminous energy (plural luminous energies)

(physics) The radiant energy of the visible portion of a spectrum of light


radio energy

electromagnetic radiation
electromagnetic radiation

(physics) The energy transmitted by radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation


pairing energy

pairing energy (plural pairing energies)

(physics) The extra binding energy associated with pairs of nucleons of the same kind; this results in nuclei having odd numbers of protons or neutrons having a lower binding energy and being less stable (than those with even numbers)


sublimation energy

sublimation energy (plural sublimation energies)

(physics) The increase in internal energy of a unit mass of solid when it undergoes sublimation at constant temperature and pressure


particle energy

particle energy (plural particle energies)

(physics) The sum of a particle's potential energy and kinetic energy


specific energy

specific energy (plural specific energies)

(physics) The energy of a substance measured per unit mass


spin-spin energy

spin-spin energy (plural spin-spin energies)

spin angular momenta
spin angular momentum

(physics) The energy due to the interaction of two spinning systems; the dot product of their spin angular momenta


resonance energy

resonance energy (plural resonance energies)

(physics) The characteristic energy at which the amplitude of a system undergoing resonance is enhanced.


vibrational energy

vibrational energy (countable and uncountable, plural vibrational energies)

(physics) The energy in a vibrating system, otherwise at rest; especially that in a molecule due to the vibrations of its atoms


recombination energy

recombination energy (plural recombination energies)

(physics) The energy released when two oppositely charged fragments of an atom or molecule recombine to form a neutral compound


strain energy

(physics) The potential energy stored in a body due to elastic deformation


rest energy

(physics) The energy of the mass component of a body at rest; equal to the product of its rest mass and the square of the speed of light


separation energy

separation energy (plural separation energies)

(physics) The energy needed to remove a nucleon or other particle from a nucleus


unavailable energy

unavailable energy (plural unavailable energies)

(physics) Energy that is converted by an irreversible process into a form that is unavailable to do work


rotational energy

rotational energy (countable and uncountable, plural rotational energies)

(physics) The kinetic energy of a rotating rigid body otherwise at rest.


translational energy

translational energy (plural translational energies)

(physics) The energy of the molecules of a fluid due to their (translational, as opposed to rotational or vibrational) motion.


Wigner energy

(physics) Energy stored in the graphite moderators of a nuclear reactor


wall energy

(physics) The energy per unit area of the boundary between adjoining ferromagnetic domains in a solid


Zeeman energy

(physics) The energy of the interaction between the magnetic moment of an atom or molecule or the magnetization and an applied magnetic field


tidal energy

tidal energy (countable and uncountable, plural tidal energies)

(physics) The energy contained in a tide flowing in or out of an estuary or similar enclosed place, especially that part of the energy that can be converted to electricity.


sound energy

sound energy (countable and uncountable, plural sound energies)

(physics) The energy present in a sound wave


thermal energy

thermal energy (plural thermal energies)

(physics) The internal energy of a system in thermodynamic equilibrium due to its temperature


non-baryonic dark matter

(astronomy, physics) dark matter comprising elementary particles whose composition is as yet unknown, but is presumed to be unlike normal protons, neutrons and electrons etc.


compression wave

compression wave (plural compression waves)

(physics) Any wave that is propagated by the compression of a fluid; examples include sound


shear centre

(mechanics) The point where a shear force can act without producing any twist in the section. In general not the centroid, but a point through which a force transverse to the axis of a beam section can act and not cause any twisting of the beam section.


beam up

en-verb

beam up (third-person singular simple present beams up, present participle beaming up, simple past and past participle beamed up)

beams up (present singular third-person)
beaming up (participle present)
beamed up (participle past)
beamed up (past)

(science fiction, transitive) To teleport (someone or something) using a (fictional) device, especially from the surface of a planet to an orbiting starship.


nanocantilever

(physics) A strip of silicon carbide, a few hundred nanometres in width, whose vibrational frequency varies in proportion to the mass of objects resting on it; it can detect masses as small as one attogram


force field

(physics) A region of space (a vector field) in which a force operates; contains lines of force; a field of force.


bottomonium

en-noun

bottomonium (plural bottomoniums or bottomonia)

bottomoniums (plural)
bottomonia (plural)

(physics) Any meson, such as an upsilon particle, formed from a bottom quark and its antiquark.


charmonium

charmonium (plural charmoniums or charmonia)

(physics) Any meson formed from a charm quark and its antiquark.


backscattering

(physics) The scattering of waves, particles, or signals back in the direction of their source.


traveltime

(physics) The amount of time that it takes for a wave to propagate between two points.


wind power

wind energy

broadly synonymous despite precise differentiability of energy from power (energy per time unit)


carbothermic

(organic chemistry, physical chemistry) carbothermal


carbothermal

(organic chemistry, physical chemistry) Using a combination of heat and carbon


carbothermal reduction

carbothermal reduction (plural carbothermal reductions)

(organic chemistry, physical chemistry) Any reduction reaction that employs carbon at high temperatures


electron density

electron density (plural electron densities)

(physics) A measure of the probability of finding an electron at a specific location within an orbital

(physics) A measure of the number of electrons per unit volume of space.


charge density

charge density (countable and uncountable, plural charge densities)

(physics) The amount of electric charge per unit volume of space, unit area of a surface, or unit length of a curve.

varaustiheys

the amount of electric charge per unit volume of space or unit area of a surface


cosmological constant

cosmological constant (plural cosmological constants)

(physics) A term added by Albert Einstein to his equations of general relativity in order to account for a supposed static universe, since used to describe vacuum energy as a form of dark energy.


time tunnel

(science fiction) A passageway enabling time travel.


carnotite

carnotite (countable and uncountable, plural carnotites)

(mineralogy) A yellow mineral that is a potassium uranyl vanadate that is a major ore of uranium, with the chemical formula K₂(UO₂)₂(VO₄)₂·3H₂O.


barycentre

(mathematics, physics, astronomy) The point at the centre of a system; an average point, weighted according to mass or other attribute. The term is usually used in astronomy for the centre of mass about which a system rotates, for example, the moon and the earth rotate about a common point within the earth but not near the centre. Jupiter and the Sun rotate about a common point just outside the surface of the Sun.


centre of mass

(mathematics, physics) A point, near, or within a body at which the object's mass can be assumed to be concentrated; it coincides with the centroid for a body of uniform density, and with the centre of gravity in a uniform gravitational field.

質心

point where the mass can be considered concentrated


centroid

From centre + -oid. From 1844, used as a replacement for the older terms "centre of gravity" and "centre of mass" in situations described in purely geometrical terms, and subsequently used for further generalisations.

形心

mean position of points in a geometrical figure — see also center of gravity, barycenter

barycentre

centre of gravity of a uniform, rigid object

The center of gravity of any body or geometrical magnitude is by definition the same as the centroid of a certain system of parallel forces. It will be convenient, therefore, to use the word centroid in most cases instead of center of gravity.[…]The centroid of any area may be found by the following method: Divide the area into parts such that the area and centroid of each part are known. Take the centroids of the partial areas as the points of application of forces proportional respectively to those areas. The centroid of this system of forces is the centroid of the total area, and may be found by the method of Art. 172.

1892, Leander Miller Hoskins, The Elements of Graphic Statics, MacMillan and Co., pages 151–152:

For example, if a postal code area (PCA) has 1000 distinct residences, we might suppose all 1000 residences are at the centroid of the PCA. Centroids are commonly used, for example, with geographic information systems and CD-ROM phone books (Francis, Lowe, Rushton and Rayco 1999).

2004, Richard L. Francis, Timothy J. Lowe, Arie Tamir, “7: Demand Point Aggregation for Local Models”, in Zvi Drezner, Horst W. Hamacher, editors, Facility Location: Applications and Theory, Springer-Verlag, page 207:

operatorname Centroid(𝒳)=(∫xg(x)dx)/(∫g(x)dx)      (6)
where the integrals are taken over the whole space ℝⁿ, and g is the characteristic function of the subset, which is 1 inside 𝒳 and 0 outside it [27].

2020, Cheng Zhang, Qiuchi Li, Lingyu Hua, Dawei Song, Assessing the Memory Ability of Recurrent Neural Networks, Giuseppe De Giacomo, et al. (editors), ECAI 2020: 24th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, IOS Press, page 1660, In ℝⁿ, a centroid is the mean position of all the points in all of the coordinate directions. The centroid of a subset 𝒳 of ℝⁿ is computed as follows

(geometry, physics, engineering, of an object or a geometrical figure) The point at which gravitational force (or other universally and uniformly acting force) may be supposed to act on a given rigid, uniformly dense body; the centre of gravity or centre of mass.


polyphenylene vinylene

rigid-rod polymer host
rigid-rod polymer host

organic light-emitting diode
organic light-emitting diode

A conducting polymer of the rigid-rod polymer host family, used in polymer-based organic light-emitting diodes. Abbreviation: PPV


MOND

modified Newtonian dynamics
modified Newtonian dynamics#English

(physics) Abbreviation of modified Newtonian dynamics.


modified Newtonian dynamics

modified Newtonian dynamics (uncountable)

(physics) A proposed extension to Newtonian dynamics that would obviate the need to assume the presence of dark matter.


field of view

(optics) The angular extent of what can be seen, either with the eye or with an optical instrument or camera.


polyacrylate

(organic chemistry) Any polymer of acrylic acid or its esters or salts


polyacrylic acid

polyacrylic acid (plural polyacrylic acids)

(organic chemistry) Any polymer of acrylic acid


polydisperse

en-adj

polydisperse (comparative more polydisperse, superlative most polydisperse)

more polydisperse (comparative)
most polydisperse (superlative)

(of a polymer, proscribed) Synonym of nonuniform (“composed of macromolecular species of differing molar masses”)


polygalacturonase

(biochemistry) Any enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of polymeric galacturonic acids and similar carbohydrates.


polyphase

polyphase (comparative more polyphase, superlative most polyphase)

more polyphase (comparative)
most polyphase (superlative)

In the past there had been several attempts to embody in locomotives some form of rotating machine to convert single-phase a.c. at supply frequency to polyphase a.c. at variable frequency, in order to achieve the necessary variable speed characteristic.

1963 November, “British achievements in electric traction”, in Modern Railways, page 313:

(electricity) Of, pertaining to, or involving multiple alternating currents that have the same frequency but differ in phase.

многофазен

of, pertaining to, or involving multiple alternating currents

(physics) Of, pertaining to, or consisting of multiple phases of matter

многофазен

of, pertaining to, or consisting of multiple phases of matter


polypeptidase

(biochemistry) Any enzyme which catalyzes the hydrolysis of a polypeptide


high-frequency gravitational wave

en-noun

high-frequency gravitational wave (plural high-frequency gravitational waves)

high-frequency gravitational waves (plural)

(physics, astronomy) gravitational radiation, in the megahertz to gigahertz region, which is proposed to have been produced by the Big Bang or by the collision of massive astronomical objects or artificially in the laboratory. Gravitational waves having frequencies higher than 100 kHz.


reflectivity

reflectivity (countable and uncountable, plural reflectivities)

(physics) The property or quality of being reflective.


circularly polarized light

circularly polarized light (uncountable)

(physics) Light (or other electromagnetic radiation) whose electric or displacement vector rotates in a plane perpendicular to the propagation direction with constant angular velocity


Raman optical activity

After Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Indian physicist.

circularly polarized light
circularly polarized light

(physics) The differential Raman scattering of left and right circularly polarized light by chiral molecules.

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman
Raman optical activity


polyrod

(physics) A directional dielectric antenna made from a rod of polystyrene projecting from a waveguide.


polybenzimidazole

diphenyl isophthalate
diphenyl isophthalate

(organic chemistry) a polymer, containing imidazole repeat units, prepared from tetraaminobiphenyl and diphenyl isophthalate; it does not melt or ignite, so is used in fire-resistant materials


polydioxanone

(organic chemistry) A biodegradable plastic made by the polymerization of p-dioxanone; it is used in medical applications such as sutures