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

The agitated motion of molecular, atomic, or → subatomic particles in all possible directions at any temperature, except at → absolute zero, where → thermal motion would cease.

→ random; → thermal; → motion.

A quantity that takes different real values as a result of the → outcomes of a → random event or experiment involving specified probabilities.

→ random; → variable.

The trajectory consisting of a series of successive moves in which the direction and size of each move is randomly determined.

→ random; → walk.

Arrangement of data in such a way as to simulate chance occurrence.

Verbal noun of → randomize.

To arrange or select in a random manner in order to reduce bias and interference caused by irrelevant variables.

Verbal form of → random.

The property of being random.

State, condition noun of → random.

1) Physics: The maximum distance a projectile travels.
2) Math.: The → set of values that actually comes out of a → function. The range is a → subset of the → codomain.
3) Statistics: The interval between the largest and smallest values in a statistical distribution.

M.E., from O.Fr. range "range, rank," from rangier "to place in a row, arrange," from reng "row, line."

1) Bord past stem of bordan "to carry, transport" (Mid.Pers. burdan, O.Pers./Av. bar- "to bear, carry," barəθre "to bear (infinitive)," Skt. bharati "he carries," Gk. pherein, L. fero "to carry;" PIE base *bher- "to carry").
2) Gostaré, from gostar, gostardan "to expand; to spread; to diffuse" (Mid.Pers. wistardan "to extend; to spread;" Proto-Iranian *ui.star-; Av. vi- "apart, away from, out" (O.Pers. viy- "apart, away;" cf. Skt. vi- "apart, asunder, away, out;" L. vitare "to avoid, turn aside") + Av. star- "to spread," starati "spreads;" cf. Skt. star- "to spread out, extend, strew," strnati "spreads;" Gk. stornumi "I spread out," strotos "spread, laid out;" L. sternere "to spread;" Ger. Strahlung "radiation," from strahlen "to radiate," from Strahl "ray;" from M.H.G. strāle; from O.H.G. strāla "arrow," stripe; PIE base *ster- "to spread").

Position, in a series arranged in order, on the basis of some principle of arrangement, with reference to the other items or values in the series.

M.E., from O.E. ranc "proud, overbearing, showy," from O.Fr. renc, ranc, rang "row, line;" cf. Dan. rank "right, upright," Ger. rank "slender," O.N. rakkr "straight, erect," perhaps from PIE *reg- "to stretch, straighten," cognate with Pers. râst, → right.

Rotbé, loan from Ar. ratbat "rank."

A temperature scale in which the degree intervals are the same size as in the → Fahrenheit scale, but 0 is set at absolute zero, -459.69 °F. Therefore, 1 degree Rankine is equal to exactly 5/9 → kelvin. It was formerly used by engineers in English-speaking countries, but is now obsolete. See also → Celsius scale, → Kelvin scale, → Reaumur scale.

Named for the British physicist and engineer William John Rankine (1820-1872); → scale.

Hydrodynamics → conservation laws (which can be extended to → magnetohydrodynamics, MHD) which describe the physical conditions of material across a → shock front. A fluid is completely described by its velocity, density, pressure, specific heat ratio, and magnetic field (in the MHD case). Mass, momentum, and energy fluxes are conserved in the shock, leading to the Rankine-Hugoniot relations. Also called Rankine-Hugoniot jump conditions. See also → jump condition.

Named after William John Rankine, → Rankine scale, and Pierre Henri Hugoniot, → Hugoniot curve; → condition.

The → vapor pressure of an ideal → solution is dependent on the vapor pressure of each chemical component and the → mole fraction of the component present in the solution. This means that the addition of → solute to a liquid lessens the tendency for the liquid to become a → solid or a → gas. For example, the addition of → salt to water causes the water to freeze below its normal → freezing point (0°C) and to boil above its normal → boiling point (100°C).

After François-Marie Raoult (1830-1901), the French chemist who studied the physical properties of chemical solutions; → law.

Occurring within a short time; happening speedily; moving or acting with great speed; swift (Dictionary.com).

From L. rapidus "tearing away, seizing, swift," from rapere "to hurry away, seize, plunder;"

Tond "swift, rapid, brisk; fierce, severe" (Mid.Pers. tund "sharp, violent;" Sogdian tund "violent;" cf. Skt. tod- "to thrust, give a push," tudáti "he thrusts;" L. tundere "to thrust, to hit" (Fr. percer, E. pierce, ultimately from L. pertusus, from p.p. of pertundere "to thrust or bore through;" PIE base *(s)teud- "to thrust, to beat").

An object with technical designation MXB 17302335 which is characterized by erratic and extremely intense → X-ray emissions. The Rapid Burster is a → binary system comprising a → low-mass star as its → primary and a → secondary  → neutron star. The → gravitational attraction of the neutron star strips its → companion of some of its gas, which then forms an → accretion disk and spirals toward the neutron star. The Rapid Burster is located at a distance of 110 kpc in the highly reddened → globular cluster Liller 1. It is a → low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) and a recurrent → X-ray transient. So far less than 200 LMXBs have been detected in the → Galaxy and the → Magellanic Clouds. All produce a persistent flux of X-rays, the result of a release of → gravitational potential energy. Approximately 40 of them also exhibit → Type I bursts which are due to → thermonuclear flashes on the surface of a neutron star. The Rapid Burster is unique among the LMXBs in that it produces X-ray bursts in quick succession. These are called → Type II bursts, and they result from a spasmodic release of gravitational potential energy, which is due to some unknown → accretion disk instability (Lewin et al., 1996, ApJ 462, L39).

→ rapid; → burster.

A chemically peculiar star characterized by the presence of high-frequency non-radial oscillations, with periods that range between about 4 and 16 min. These variations have periods from about 5 to 20 minutes and low amplitudes (B < 10 mmag). They are consistent with acoustic (→ p mode) pulsations of low degree and high radial overtone.

→ rapid; → -ly; → oscillate; → -ing; → Ap star.

A part of a river where the current runs very swiftly. See also → torrent.

→ rapid.

Tondâb, from tond, → rapid, + âb, → water.

Not occurring very often; not found in large numbers.

M.E., from O.Fr. rere "sparse" from L. rarus "thinly sown; not thick; having intervals between."

Perz, in several Iranian languages and dialects "little, few, small, minute part of any thing" (Khonsâri: perz, Qatrâni: perzema, Birjandi: porzu, Farâmarzâni: pesk, Kurd petik, Tabari: perik "minute quantity, particle"); maybe ultimately from Proto-Ir. *paraka- "small part," → part.
Kamyâb "rare, difficult to find," from kam "little, few; deficient, wanting; scarce" (Mid.Pers. kam "little, small, few," O.Pers./Av. kamna- "small, few"); + yâb present stem of yâftan, yâbidan "to find, discover; to obtain, acquire" (Mid.Pers. ayâftan, ayâpênitan "to reach, attain;" Manichean Mid.Pers. 'y'b "to attain;" Parthian, Sogdian (+ *pati-) pty'b "to reach, obtain;" Av. ap- "to reach, overtake," apayeiti "achieved, reached;" Skt. âp- "to reach, gain," âpnoti "reaches, gains;" Gk. hapto, haptomai "to touch, cling to, adhere to;" L. apiscor "touch, reach;" PIE base *ap- "to take, reach").

Any of the group of metallic → chemical elements with → atomic numbers between 57 and 71 inclusive. The name is an inappropriate terminology, since they are neither rare nor earth; preferred name → lanthanide.

→ rare; → earth; → element.

Another name for → inert gas.

M.E., from O.Fr. rere "sparse," from L. rarus "loose, wide apart, thin, infrequent;" &rar; gas.

Kamyâb "rare, difficult to find," from kam "little, few; deficient, wanting; scarce" (Mid.Pers. kam "little, small, few," O.Pers./Av. kamna- "small, few"); + yâb present stem of yâftanyâftan, yâbidan "to find, discover; to obtain, acquire" (Mid.Pers. ayâftan, ayâpênitan "to reach, attain;" Manichean Mid.Pers. 'y'b "to attain;" Parthian, Sogdian (+ *pati-) pty'b "to reach, obtain;" Av. ap- "to reach, overtake," apayeiti "achieved, reached;" Skt. âp- "to reach, gain," âpnoti "reaches, gains;" Gk. hapto, haptomai "to touch, cling to, adhere to;" L. apiscor "touch, reach;" PIE base *ap- "to take, reach").

The state of being rarefied, less dense.
An instantaneous reduction in density of a gas resulting from passage a sound wave; opposite of → compression.

M.E. rarefien, from M.Fr. rarefier, from L. rarefacere "make rare," from rarus "loose, wide apart, thin, infrequent."

Verbal noun from âlar present stem of âlaridan→ rarefy + -š, a suffix.

A pressure wave in a fluid generated by rarefaction. It travels in the opposite direction to that of a shock wave in the medium.

→ rarefaction; → wave.