An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

1) General: A person or thing that reacts.
2) A substance on the left side of a → chemical equation.

From → react + -ant.

1) General: Action in response to some influence, event, stimulus.
2) An equal and opposite force exerted by a body against a force acting upon it. → principle of action and reaction.
3) A → nuclear reaction; → chain reaction.
4) → chemical reaction.

Verbal noun of → react.

The speed with which a → chemical reaction takes place. In other words, the change in → concentration of a → substance divided by the → time interval during which the change is observed.

→ reaction; → rate.

Tending to react. Pertaining to or characterized by reaction.

From → react + -ive a suffix of adjectives expressing tendency, disposition, function, connection, etc.

Vâžirandé verbal adj. of vâžiridan→ react; vâžireši, adj. of vâžireš→ reaction.

1) General: The quality or condition of being reactive.
2) Physics: A measure of the deviation from the condition at which a → nuclear reactor is critical.
3) Chem.: The relative → capacity of an → atom, → molecule, or → redical to undergo a → chemical reaction with another atom, molecule, or → compound.

From → reactive + → -ity.

1) A device for introducing reactance into an electrical circuit (e.g. a capacitor).
2) Same as → nuclear reactor.

From → react + → -or.

The part of a → nuclear reactor in which → nuclear fission takes place and huge quantities of heat energy are generated.

→ reactor; → core.

The ratio of total flux that is reflected from a surface to the incident flux. Also called reflectance, reflectivity.

→ reflection; → factor.

To alter the course of a wave of light, sound, etc. when the wave crosses the boundary between this medium and another through which it travels at a different speed.

From L. refractus, p.p. of refringere, → refraction.

Verb of šekast, → refraction.

A → light ray that undergoes a change of velocity and direction, as a result of interaction with the material medium in which it travels.

→ reflect; → ray.

1) The action or result of the verb → refract.
2) Participial adjective of → refract.

From → refract + → -ing.

A prism that is used as a dispersing element in a spectrograph.

→ refracting; → prism.

A telescope in which an image is formed by the refraction of light through a lens or lens system.

→ refracting; → telescope.

1) Optics: The change of direction which a beam of light undergoes as it enters a medium of different → refractive index.
2) Acoustics: The change in direction in sound waves on reaching the boundary between two media.
3) Seismology: The bending of a seismic wave as it enters a material of different density.

From L.L. refractionem (nominative refractio) "a breaking up," from L. refractus, p.p. of refringere "to break up," from re- "back" + combining form of frangere "to break," from PIE base *bhreg- "to break" (cf. Goth. brikan, O.E. brecan "to break;" Lith. brasketi "crash, crack").

Šekast, past stem of šekastan "to break, split;" Mid.Pers. škastan "to break;" Av. scind-, scand "to beak, cleave;" Proto-Iranian *skand- "to break, cleave;" PIE sken- "to cut off."

Of any optical medium, the ratio of the → speed of light in vacuum (c) to that in the medium (v): n = c/v. The refractive index for vacuum, by definition, is 1. The refractive index of air is 1.00029 at standard temperature (25 °C) and pressure (1 atm). The refractive index of a medium depends on the wavelength of refracted wave. With light waves, n increases as the wavelength decreases. → Snell's law can be used to derive n. Same as → index of refraction.

Refractive, pertaining to → refraction; → index.

Same as → refracting telescope.

Agent noun of refract, → refraction.

A substance that has a high → melting point. It is therefore resistant to treatment and not easily melted or worked. The opposite of → volatile.

From refract, → refraction + adj. suffix -ory.

Sarkeš "refractory, disobedient, rebellious, stubborn," literally "withdrw, remove head," from sar "head" (variants soru, sorun "horn," karnâ "a trumpet-like wind instrument," variant sornâ "a wind instrument;" Mid.Pers. sar "head," sru "horn;" Av. sarah- "head," srū- "horn, nail;" cf. Skt. śiras- "head, chief;" Gk. kara "head," karena "head, top," keras "horn;" L. cornu "horn," cerebrum "brain;" P.Gmc. *khurnaz (Ger. Horn, Du. horen; cognate with E. horn, as above, from PIE *ker- "head, horn;" O.E. horn "horn of an animal," also "wind instrument;" E. horn); PIE base *ker- "head, horn, top, summit") + keš present stem of kešidan, kašidan "to draw; withdraw, remove" (dialectal Yaqnavi xaš "to draw," Qomi xaš "streak, stria, mark," Lori kerr "line;" Av. karš- "to draw; to plow," karša- "furrow;" Proto-Iranian *kerš-/*xrah- "to draw, plow;" cf. Skt. kars-, kársati "to pull, drag, plow;" Gk. pelo, pelomai "to move, to bustle;" PIE base k^wels- "to plow").
Dirgodâz, literally "melting slowly, with delay," from dir "slowly, tardily; late" (Mid.Pers. dêr, variants dagr, drâz "long;" (Mod.Pers. derâz "long," variant Laki, Kurdi derež); O.Pers. darga- "long;" Av. darəga-, darəγa- "long," drājištəm "longest;" cf. Skt. dirghá- "long (in space and time);" L. longus "long;" Gk. dolikhos "elongated;" O.H.G., Ger. lang; Goth. laggs "long;" PIE base *dlonghos- "long") + godâz-, godâxtan "to melt" (Mid.Pers. vitâxtan, vitâcitan "to melt," from Av. vi-taxti- "flowing away, melting," from vi- "apart, away from, out" (O.Pers. viy- "apart, away;" cf. Skt. vi- "apart, asunder, away, out;" L. vitare "to avoid, turn aside") + tak- "to run, to flow," taciāp- "flowing water," tacinti (3pl.pers.act.) "to flow," tacar- "course," tacan "current, streaming;" Mod.Pers. tâz-, tâxtan "to run; to hasten; to assault," tâzi "swift (greyhound)," tak "running, rush;" Mid.Pers. tâz-, tâxtan "to flow, to cause to walk," tc- "to flow, to walk," tag "running, attack," tâzig "swift, fast;" Khotanese ttajs- "to flow, to walk;" cf. Skt. tak- "to rush, to hurry," takti "runs;" O.Ir. tech- "to flow;" Lith. teketi "to walk, to flow;" O.C.S. tešti "to walk, to hurry;" Tokharian B cake "river;" PIE base *tek^w- "to run; to flow").

The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction for a ray passing out of one of the media into the other.

→ relative; → refractive; → index.

A nuclear reactor designed for radionuclide production, materials testing, and training.

→ research; → reactor.

A nuclear reaction whose probability is enhanced at an energy corresponding to an energy level of one of the nuclei. → resonance capture.

Resonant, verbal adj. of → resonate; → reaction.