An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The → turbulent process whereby → kinetic energy is transformed into heat by the action of nonlinear coupling which transfers the energy from large eddies (→ eddy) to smaller and smaller eddies, finally arriving at → dissipative scales dominated by → viscosity (direct cascade). In the simplest case (3D homogeneous hydrodynamic turbulence), the resulting energy distribution is the → Kolmogorov spectrum. The reverse process also exists (inverse cascade) whereby energy is transferred to larger and larger eddies.

→ energy; → cascade.

A thought experiment developed in 1935 by A. Einstein (1879-1955), Boris Podolsky (1896-1966), and Nathan Rosen (1909-1995) to demonstrate that there is a fundamental inconsistency in → quantum mechanics. They imagined two physical systems that are allowed to interact initially so that they will subsequently be defined by a single quantum mechanical state. For example, a neutral → pion at rest which decays into a pair of → photons. The pair of photons is described by a single two-particle → wave function. Once separated, the two photons are still described by the same wave function, and a measurement of one → observable of the first system will determine the measurement of the corresponding observable of the second system. For example, if photon 1 is found to have → spin up along the x-axis, then photon 2 must have spin down along the x-axis, since the final total → angular momentum of the two-photon system must be the same as the angular momentum of the initial state. This means that we know the spin of photon 2 even without measuring it. Likewise, the measurement of another observable of the first system will determine the measurement of the corresponding observable of the second system, even though the systems are no longer physically linked in the traditional sense of local coupling (→ quantum entanglement). So, EPR argued that quantum mechanics was not a complete theory, but it could be corrected by postulating the existence of → hidden variables that furthermore would be "local". According to EPR, the specification of these local hidden parameters would predetermine the result of measuring any observable of the physical system. However, in 1964 John S. Bell developed a theorem, → Bell's inequality, to test for the existence of these hidden variables. He showed that if the inequality was satisfied, then no local hidden variable theory can reproduce the predictions of quantum mechanics. → Aspect experiment.

A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, N. Rosen: "Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?" Phys. Rev. 41, 777 (15 May 1935); → paradox.

Of a planet, the distance from the center to the equator. For Earth it is 6,378.1370 km. Jupiter has an equatorial radius 11.2 times Earth's value.

→ equatorial; → radius.

An advanced stellar → spectropolarimeter designed and built at the Observatoire Midi-Pyréenées and installed at the → Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). It can obtain a a complete optical spectrum, from 370 nm to 1050 nm, in a single exposure. Among its characteristics: resolving power 65 000 to 80 000; 12% peak throughput (telescope and detector included); continuum subtracted linear and circular polarization spectra of the stellar light (in polarimetric mode). ESPaDOnS is used to study a broad range of important problems in stellar physics: from → stellar magnetic fields to → accretion disks and → extrasolar planets; from inhomogeneities and differential rotation on stellar surfaces to activity cycles and magnetic braking; from microscopic diffusion to turbulence, convection, and circulation in stellar interiors; from abundances and pulsations in stellar atmospheres to stellar winds; from the early phases of stellar formation to the late stages of stellar evolution; from extended circumstellar environments to distant interstellar medium (Donati et al., 2006, Solar Polarization, ASP Conf. Series, 358, 362, eds. R. Casini, B. W. Lites).

Short for Echelle Spectro-Polarimetric Device for the O bservation of Stars; → echelle; → spectro-; → polarimetric; → device; → observation; → star.

An → adaptive optics system with high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic capabilities. Extreme adaptive optics systems enable the detection of faint objects (e.g., → exoplanets) close to bright sources that would otherwise overwhelm them. This is accomplished both by increasing the peak intensity of point-source images and by removing light scattered by the atmosphere and the telescope optics into the → seeing disk.

→ extreme; → adaptive; → optics.

The contradiction between a colder Sun (about 30% less luminous) some 4 billion years ago, as predicted by models, and the warm ancient Terrestrial and Martian climates derived from geological evidence.

→ faint; → early; → sun; → paradox.

The → SI unit of → capacitance, defined as the capacitance of a conductor whose → potential increases by one → volt when a charge of 1 → coulomb is imparted to it; symbol F.

Named after the British physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), who made several major contributions to the fields of electricity and magnetism.

An enclosure made of conducting material, such as wire mesh or metal plates, that shields what it contains from external electric fields. According to → Gauss's theorem, the electric field inside a hollow conductor is nil. In order to demonstrate this, Faraday, in 1836, made a large box covered with wire mesh, and went inside it himself with an → electroscope. Powerful charges were applied to the outside of the box, but he detected no effect inside the cage.

→ farad; → cage.

Same as → Faraday rotation.

→ farad; → effect.

The rotation of the plane of → polarization experienced by a beam of → linearly polarized radiation when the radiation passes through a material containing a magnetic field with a component in the direction of propagation. This effect occurs in → H II regions in which a magnetic field causes a change in the polarized waves passing through. Same as → Faraday effect.

→ farad; → rotation.

The induced → electromotive force in a circuit is equal in magnitude and opposite in sign to the rate of change of the → magnetic flux through the surface bounded by the circuit. Mathematically, it is expressed as: ∇ x E = -∂B/∂t, which is one of the four → Maxwell's equations.

→ farad; → law; → induction.

A bright → burst of → radio emission lasting only a few milliseconds, and thought to be of → extragalactic origin. The first ever detected such burst, called the → Lorimer burst, was in 2007. It lasted only 5 milliseconds, but the single radio → pulse was dispersed over a wide range of frequencies (→ dispersion measure). This suggested a → cosmic origin for the burst, because the radiation must have passed through very distant → intergalactic clouds to be so highly dispersed. The second FRB was detected in 2012 in archival data from the Parkes Radio Telescope, the same telescope through which the original burst was seen. No temporally coincident → X-ray or → gamma ray signature was identified in association with the bursts. Most recent results suggest FRBs as a new population of explosive events at cosmological distances of up to 3 → giga  → parsecs, that is → redshifts of 0.5 to 1. While physical interpretations for this phenomenon remain speculative, they are thought to involve highly → compact objects, such as → neutron stars. See also → blitzar.

The term fast radio burst was coined by Thornton et al., 2013, Science, 341, 53 (arXiv:1307.1628); → fast; → radio; → burst.

The apparent contradiction between the high probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence of contact with such civilizations.

→ fermi; → paradox.

The 500 m diameter → radio telescope which is the largest → single-dish antenna in the world. It is an Arecibo type telescope nestled within a natural basin in China's remote and mountainous Dawodang, Kedu Town, in southeastern China's Guizhou Province. The → reflector consists of 4,450 triangular panels, each with a side length of 11 m. More than 2,000 → actuators are used, according to the feedback from the measuring system, to deform the whole reflector surface and directly correct for → spherical aberration. Several detectors are used to cover a frequency range of 70 MHz to 3 GHz.

→ five; → hundred; → meter; → aperture; → spherical; → radio; → telescope.

A chemical radical that can exist independently from atoms or group of atoms.

→ free; → radical.

A diffuse radio signal that originates outside the solar system. It is strongest in the direction of the Galactic plane.

→ galactic; → radio; → noise.

A star forming region in the → Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite of our Galaxy, as pictured by the → Hubble Space Telescope. It spans about 50 light-years and contains several young, → massive stars.

→ ghost; → head; → nebula

1) A degree or step in a scale, as of rank, advancement, quality, value, or intensity.
2) To arrange in a series of grades; class; sort (Dictionary.com).

From Fr. grade "grade, degree," from L. gradus "step, pace, gait, walk;" figuratively "a step, stage, degree," related to gradi "to walk, step, go," and second element in congress, progress, etc.; from PIE *ghredh-; cf. Lith. gridiju "to go, wander," O.C.S. gredo "to come," O.Ir. in-greinn "he pursues."

Padâk, from Baluci padâk "step, stair, ladder" (ultimately from Proto-Ir. *padaka-), older form of Pers. pâyé "step, base," from Mid.Pers. pâd, pây; Av. pad-, cf. Skt. pat: Gk. pos, genitive podos; L. pes; PIE *pod-/*ped-.

1) General: Degree of slope.
2) Physics: Change in the value of a quantity (as temperature, pressure) with change in a given variable.
3) Math.: A differential → operator (symbol → nabla, ∇) that, operating upon a function (f) of several variables, creates a → vector whose coordinates are the → partial derivatives of the function: ∇f = (∂f/∂x)i + (∂f/∂y)j + (∂f/∂z)k. The gradient of a → scalar function is a vector function.

From L. gradient-, gradiens, pr.p. of gradi "to walk, go," from grad- "walk" + -i- thematic vowel + -ent suffix of conjugation.

Ziné "ladder, steps, stair," may be related to ciné, from cidan "to place (something) above/upon (another similar thing);" cf. Lori râ-zina, Yazdi râ-cina "stairs," Nâyini orcen "stairs, ladder;" the phoneme change -c- into -z-, as in gozidan, gozin-/cidan, cin- both deriving from Proto-Ir. *cai- "to heap up, gather, collect."

Proceeding, taking place, changing by small degrees.

From M.L. gradualis, from L. gradus "step."

Padâkvâr, from padâk "grade," + -vâr a suffix which denotes "suiting, befitting, resembling, in the manner of, possession."
Pâypâyé "step by step," from pây, pâ "foot, step," → foot.