An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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In, relating to, or characteristic of the → countryside.

M.E., from O.Fr. rural, from L ruralis "of the countryside," from rur-,rus "open land, country;" cf. O.E. rum "space" (extent or time); O.H.G., Gothic rum, Ger. Raum "space," ultimately from PIE root *reue- "to open; space," source also of Av. ravah- "space," O.Irish roi, roe "plain field," O.C.S. ravinu "level," Russ. ravnina "a plain."

Rustâyi, adj. of rustâ, → countryside.

A coupling scheme of → electron configuration, used mainly for the lighter atoms with → atomic number less than 30. In an atom when changes in energy states are produced by the action of two or more electrons, the value of the total angular momentum of these electrons results from the coupling between the total → orbital angular momenta of the electrons and the total → spin angular momenta of the electrons. In this scheme the orbital angular momenta and spin angular momenta of electrons are added separately to give the total angular momentum L = Σ_i l_i and the total electron spin angular momentum S = Σ_i s_i. These are then added to give J = L + S. Also called → LS coupling. See also → jj coupling.

After Henry Norris Russell (1877-1957) and Frederick Albert Saunders (1875-1963), American astronomers (1925, ApJ 61, 38); → coupling.

A uniqueness theorem involving the equations of state of stellar structure. → Vogt-Russell theorem.

Named after the German astronomer Heinrich Vogt (1890-1968) and the American astronomer Henry Norris Russell (1877-1957); → theorem.

Hydrated oxide of iron, mainly Fe₂O₃H₂O, formed on the surface of iron when it is exposed to moisture and air.

O.E. rust, related to rudu "redness," from P.Gmc. *rusta- (cf. O.H.G., Ger. rost, M.Du. ro(e)st), from PIE base *reudh- "red" (cf. Lith. rustas "brownish," rudeti "to rust;" L. robigo, O.C.S. ruzda "rust").

Zang "rust," variants žang, zangâr, of unknown origin.

A hard, silver gray metal belonging to the → platinum group of metals; symbol: Ru. It is found directly above osmium in Group 8 of the periodic table. → Atomic number 44, → atomic weight 101.07, → melting point about 2,310°C, → boiling point about 3,900°C, → specific gravity 12.41 at 20°C.

From L. ruthenia "Russia," because it was first found by the Russian chemist Gottfried Wilhelm Osann in 1828, despite not being recognized as an element. In 1844 the Russian chemist Karl Karlovich Klaus was able to isolate the ruthenium metal.

A simple model assuming that the positive charge of the atom is not distributed uniformly throughout the atom (unlike the → Thomson atom), but is concentrated in a minute center or nucleus, and the negative charge is distributed over a sphere of radius comparable with the atomic radius.

After the British physicist and chesmist Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), who put forward this model in 1911; Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908; → atom.

An artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Rf. Atomic number 104; mass number of most stable isotope 261; melting point, boiling point, and specific gravity unknown. Rutherfordium was discovered in 1964 by a team of scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna in Russia who named the element kurchatovium. The Russian scientists were unable to duplicate their results and therefore lost credit to a team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, who identified the element. The scientists in California were successful in isolating the element after irradiating ²⁴⁹Cf with ¹²C.

Named after the British physicist and chemist Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), → Rutherford atom.

A unit of energy used in atomic physics, equal to about 13.6 electron-volts, the ionization potential of hydrogen.

In honor of the Swedish physicist Johannes Robert Rydberg (1854-1919), who did important contributions on spectroscopy, and in particular found a relatively simple expression relating the various lines in the spectra of chemical elements (1890).

A fundamental constant of atomic physics appearing in the → Rydberg formula. The Rydberg constant for hydrogen is 109,739 cm^-1.

→ rydberg; → constant.

A term inserted into a formula for the energy of a single electron in the outermost shell of an atom to take into account the failure of the inner electron shells to screen the nuclear charge completely.

→ rydberg; → correction.

A formula, used in atomic physics, which describes the wavelengths or frequencies of light in various series of related spectral lines, such as those emitted by hydrogen atoms.

→ rydberg; → formula.

The only supernova seen to date in the Andromeda galaxy and the first supernova observed beyond our own Galaxy. It was recorded on Aug. 20, 1885, by Ernst Hartwig (1851-1923) at Dorpat Observatory (Tartu) in Estonia and independently by other astronomers. S Andromedae reached magnitude 6 between Aug. 17 and 20, and had faded to magnitude 16 by February 1890. It is now believed that S Andromedae was a Type Ia supernova. Also known as SN 1885A.

S, from the second variable star to be discovered in constellation → Andromeda

A moderately bright type of asteroids (albedo 0.10 to 0.22) consisting mainly of iron- and magnesium-silicates such as olivine and pyroxene. They are dominant in the inner main belt within 2.2 AU, common in the central belt within about 3 AU, but become rare further out. The largest is 15 Eunomia (about 330 km in its largest dimension).

S stands for silicaceous, → silicate; → asteroid.

A → star cluster situated within an arcsecond, or 0.04 pc, from the → Galactic Center, in the vicinity of the → supermassive black hole Sgr A*. The cluster members are about 40 → main sequence → B-type stars with relatively high orbital → eccentricities (0.3 ≤ e&le 0.95). The most famous member of the S cluster is S2 because of its brightness and its fast orbital motion near Sgr A*. Same as Same as the Sgr A* cluster and S stars. See also other → Galactic center clusters (Figer et al. 2002, ApJ 581, 258; and 1999, ApJ 525, 750).

S, because of proximity to → Sgr A*; → cluster.

A type of massive, → blue supergiant, → variable star, also known as a → Hubble-Sandage variable or a → Luminous Blue Variable (LBV). S Doradus stars are the most luminous stars in the Galaxy and are easily identified in other nearby galaxies. They are named after the prototype, S Doradus, in the → Large Magellanic Cloud.

→ Dorado; → star.

A → red giant of → spectral type S whose spectrum is dominated by → molecular bands arising from → zirconium → oxide (ZrO). S stars also have strong → cyanogen bands and contain spectral lines of → lithium and → technetium. Almost all S stars are → long-period variables.

S, letter of alphabet; → star.

A → nucleosynthesis process by which → chemical elements heavier than → copper are formed through a slow flux of → neutrons absorbed by atomic nuclei (→ neutron-capture element). The → capture of neutrons occurs on time scales that are long enough to enable unstable nuclei to decay via the emission of a → beta particle before absorbing another neutron. Prominent s-process elements include → barium, → zirconium, and → yttrium. See also: → r-process.

s stands for → slow; → process.

A type of → asteroid containing → pyroxene and → olivine silicates, probably mixed with metallic iron, similar to → stony meteorites. S-type asteroids show high albedo of 0.10-0.22. They include about 17% of known asteroids and occupy the inner → asteroid belt.

S for → stone; → type; → asteroid.

Same as → S star.

S, letter of alphabet; → type; → star.

→ shear wave.

S, referring to → shear; → wave.