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

Characterized by or associated with → degeneracy.

L. degeneratus, p.p. of degenerare "depart from one's kind, fall from ancestral quality," from → de- + gener-, stem of genus "race, stock, kind," gignere "to beget," cf. with Gk. genos "race, kind," gonos "birth, offspring," from PIE base *gen-/*gon-/*gn- "to produce, beget, be born," cf. Av. zan- "to bear, give birth to a child, be born," infinitive zazāite, zāta- "born," zana- "race" (in sruuô.zana- "belonging to the race of the horned ones"), O.Pers. zana- "tribe" (in paru-zana- "consisting of many tribes"), Skt. janati "begets, bears," jana- "creature, human being, race, tribe, people."

Vâgen, from vâ-, → de-, + gen "kind," (as in hamgen "of the same kind, like each other; friend, partner," from ham- "together," → com- + gen "kind," O.Pers./Av. zana- "race; tribe," cognate with L. genus, as above). Alternatively, gen may be a variant of Mid./Mod.Pers. gôn/gun "kind, type; manner; color, skin color," from Av. gaona- "hair, hair color, color."

Same as → white dwarf.

→ degenerate; → dwarf.

Highly compressed matter in which the normal atomic structure has broken down and which, because of quantum-mechanical effects, exerts a pressure that is independent of temperature. Bodies with masses less than → Chandrasekhar's limit (1.4 solar masses) are supported by electron → degeneracy pressure and have densities of about 10⁶ kg/m³. In collapsed stars of mass above 1.4 solar masses, gravity will overwhelm electron degeneracy and further collapse ensues. Electrons combine with protons to form neutrons, so producing a → neutron star. Because neutrons, like electrons, are → fermions and therefore subject to the → Pauli exclusion principle, at high enough densities, about 10¹⁴ kg/m³, neutron degeneracy pressure prevents further collapse of the star. For masses larger than 2-3 solar masses, even neutron degeneracy cannot prevent further collapse, and a → black hole is formed.

→ degenerate; → matter.

In → vector calculus, a vector → partial derivative represented by the symbol → nabla and defined in three dimensions to be:
∇ = (∂/∂x)i + (∂/∂y)j + (∂/∂z)k.
It appears in the operations → gradient: ∇f, → divergence: ∇ . E, → curl: ∇ x E, and → Laplacian: ∇ . ∇f = ∇²f.

From Gk. alphabet letter delta.

To add → deuterium to a → chemical compound.

From L. deuter(ium), → deuterium, + -ate a suffix forming verbs from L. -atus (masc.), -ata (fem.), -atum (neut.).

Doteridan, infinitive from doteriom, → deuterium.

Describing a → chemical compound to which → deuterium is added.

Past participle of → deuterate.

A chemical species in which the → deuterium abundance is → enriched with respect to a mean standard value.

→ deuterated; → species.

The process of introducing → deuterium into a → chemical compound.

Verbal noun of → deuterate.

A system of evolved → binary stars in which both → components have ejected their envelopes and evolve toward → white dwarf stage. So far a half dozen double-degenerate → binary systems are known, for example Henize 2-248 (M. Santander-Garcia et al., 2015, 518, 5).

→ double; → degenerate; → binary; → system.

An indication of the heat amount received by → dust grains from the ambient → radiation field. Dust temperature depends on the optical properties and → sizes of grains (i.e., on the way they → absorb and → emit radiation) as well as on the → interstellar radiation field. Most of the visible and → ultraviolet radiation in galaxies from stars passes through clouds of particles and heats them. This heating leads to re-radiation at much longer wavelengths extending to the millimeter.

→ dust; → temperature.

A measure of the surface temperature of a star derived from the total emitted energy, assuming that the star is a → blackbody emitter (→ Stefan-Boltzmann law, → Planck's radiation law). See also → brightness temperature; → color temperature.

→ effective; → temperature.

A characteristic parameter occurring in the → Einstein model of → specific heats.

→ Einstein; → temperature.

A → degenerate matter in which electrons are very tightly packed together, as in a white dwarf, but cannot get closer than a certain limit to each other, because according to quantum mechanics laws (→ Pauli exclusion principle) the lowest energy levels can be occupied by only one electron. Therefore, electrons are forced into high energy states. And the significant pressure created by these high energy electrons supports white dwarf stars against their own gravity.

→ electron; → degeneracy.

1) The temperature of electrons in an interstellar ionized nebula (e.g. in → H II regions and → planetary nebulae) as determined by characteristic → emission lines (optical → forbidden lines or → radio recombination lines).
2) In the → solar wind, the temperature derived from the mean → thermal agitation of the electrons. More specifically, electric field receivers on board space probes carry out the spectroscopy of the → thermal noise due to the potential fluctuations produced by the thermal agitation of the electrons, yielding the electron temperature in certain conditions (N. Meyer-Vernet, 2007, Basics of the Solar Wind, Cambridge Univ. Press). See also → proton temperature.

→ electron; → temperature.

The unified description of two of the four fundamental interactions of nature, → electromagnetism and the → weak interaction which would merge into a single force under conditions of extreme temperature (above 10¹⁶ degrees, 10² GeV) prevalent in the early history of the → Universe.

→ electroweak; → interaction.

Of a stellar → nuclear fusion, the equation describing the → energy generation rate as a function of → density and → temperature.

→ energy; → generation; → equation.

Of a stellar → nuclear fusion, the energy produced per unit mass per unit time, usually denoted ε (erg g^-1s^-1). The general form of the energy generation equation is: ε = ε₀ρ^λT^ν, where ε₀, ρ, and λ are constants over some efficiently restricted range of → temperature T, → density ρ, and → chemical composition. The temperature exponent ν is about 4, 15, and 40 for → proton-proton chain, → CNO cycle, and → triple alpha process, respectively.

→ energy; → generation; → rate.

A triangle having three equal sides.

→ equi-, → lateral, → triangle.

Sé-pahlu-barâbar, from sé, → three, pahlu, → side, barâbar, → equal.

1) General: A period of time marked by a distinctive character, events, etc.
2) A system of chronological notation reckoned from a given date.
3) Geology: A subdivision of geologic time that is longer than a period but shorter than an eon. Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic are the eras of the time scale from oldest to youngest.

From L.L. æra, era "fixed date, era, epoch from which time is reckoned," probably identical with L. æra "counters used for calculation," plural of aes "brass, money," from PIE *aus- "gold" (cf. Av. aiiah- "metal," aiianhaēna- "made of metal;" Skt. áyas- "metal;" O.H.G. ēr "ore;" O.E. ora "ore, unworked metal;" Ger. ehern "brazen").

Dowrân, from Ar. daur "age, time; revolution."

A simple way of calculating the Earth's → circumference using two sticks and two theorems of the → Euclidean geometry. Eratosthenes calculated the length of a → meridian arc by measuring the shadow cast by a vertical → gnomon at noon on the → summer solstice. In Cyene (→ tropic of Cancer), no shadow is cast whereas in Alexandria, further north, the shadow is cast at an angle of 1/50 of 360° (measured using a → scaphe), or 7.2°, from the vertical. The circumference is therefore equal to 50 times the distance between the two cities. The distance from Syene to Alexandria was 5,000 stadia, which when multiplied by 50 gives the measure for the Earth's circumference, 250,000 stadia. Estimating the accuracy of this result is not easy because the unit of stadium is not uniquely defined in the ancient world. The most likely reconstruction puts Eratosthenes' stadium in the range 155-185m, implying an error of about 3% below or 15% above the true value. The modern value for the equatorial circumference of the Earth is 40,075 km. As scholars have pointed out, Eratosthenes' experiment was marred by several errors: Syene is not on the Tropic of cancer, it is not on the same meridian as Alexandria, and the distance between the two cities is less than he estimated. But the errors tended to cancel each other out, so his estimate was relatively accurate. See also: → Mamun's method, → Biruni's method.

Eratosthenes (c. 276-194 B.C.), Gk. mathematician, astronomer, and geographer. He studied in Athens and later became a librarian in Alexandria. His treatise On the Measuring of the Earth is lost. The account of his experiment has been preserved in Cleomedes (probably first century A.D.). See also → sieve of Eratosthenes; → experiment.