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

The reflection of light waves in which the reflected waves travel in a definite direction, and the directions of the incident and reflected waves make equal angles with a line perpendicular to the reflecting surface. Same as → regular reflection; opposite of → diffuse reflection.

From L. specularis, from speculum "mirror;" → reflection.

Bâztâb, → reflection; âyenevâr "mirror-like," from âyené, → mirror + -vâr similarity suffix.

The act or an instance of speculating.

Verbal noun of → speculate.

An aberration of a spherical lens or spherical mirror in which light rays converge not to a single point but to a series of points with different distances from the lens or mirror. Spherical aberration is corrected by using parabolic reflecting and refracting surface.

→ spherical; → aberration.

The branch of astronomy that is concerned with determining the apparent positions and motions of celestial bodies on the celestial sphere. Same as → positional astronomy.

→ spherical; → astronomy.

A solution of some mathematical equations when → spherical polar coordinates are used in investigating physical problems in three dimensions. For example, solutions of → Laplace's equation treated in spherical polar coordinates. Spherical harmonics are ubiquitous in atomic and molecular physics and appear in quantum mechanics as → eigenfunctions of → orbital angular momentum. They are also important in the representation of the gravitational and magnetic fields of planetary bodies, the characterization of the → cosmic microwave background anisotropy, the description of electrical potentials due to charge distributions, and in certain types of fluid motion.

The term spherical harmonics was first used by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and Peter Guthrie Tait in their 1867 Treatise on Natural Philosophy; → spherical; → harmonic.

A new area of science and technology which exploits the intrinsic → spin of electrons and its associated → magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, in solid-state devices. In brief, spin-based electronics. For example, information could be transported or stored through the spin-up or spin-down states of electrons. Spintronics techniques are capable of much higher speed while requiring less power than the conventional method of using electron charges to represent data. The first use of spintronics was in the late 1980s with the development of → giant magnetoresistance (GMR) read heads for disk drives

Short for → spin + → electronics.

A function consisting of several segments, usually → polynomials, joined smoothly together at specific points with an explicitly stated degree of accuracy. Spline functions are used to approximate a given function on an interval.

From East Anglian dialect, maybe related to O.E. splin and to modern splint. A spline was originally a slat or a thin strip of wood. A later meaning was "a long, thin, flexible strip used as a guide for drawing arcs of curves;" → function.

→ fibula.

M.E., from M.Du. or M.L.G. splinte, splente "thin piece of iron," related to M.Du. splinte "splint," probably literally "thin piece cut off."

→ fibula.

Arising from internal forces or causes; independent of external agencies; self-acting.

From L.L. spontaneus "willing, of one's free will," from L. (sua) sponte "of one's own accord, willingly," of unknown origin.

Sarxod, literally "by himself/herself," from sar "head" (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") + xod "self" (Mid.Pers. xwad "self; indeed;" Av. hva- "self, own").

The self-ignition of a substance that produces sufficient heat within itself, by a slow oxidation process, for ignition to take place without the need for an external high-temperature source. The produced heat energy is absorbed by the substance raising its temperature slowly until the → ignition temperature is reached. Same as spontaneous ignition.

→ spontaneous; → combustion.

The emission of electromagnetic radiation from an atom or molecule that does not depend on the presence of external fields.

→ spontaneous; → emission.

A physical phenomenon whereby a symmetric system becomes permanently asymmetric. A simple example is a ball lying on top of a hill in equilibrium. The hill-ball system is symmetric about the vertical axis through the top of the hill. Moreover, there is no preferred horizontal direction to the system. However, its state is unstable, since the slightest perturbing force will cause the ball to roll down the hill in some particular direction. The system becomes permanently asymmetric because the ball will not roll uphill by itself. Symmetry breaking is found in several fields of physics, for example in → magnetism (→ ferromagnetism), → thermodynamics (→ crystallization), and → particle physics, where it constitutes the basis of → electroweak interactions. In cosmology, according to the → Big Bang model, the fundamental forces of the Universe split off from one another in a form of spontaneous symmetry braking. If a single, unified force existed with a certain symmetry just after the Big Bang, if that symmetry were somehow broken so that the unified force were fractured, then the result might be several fundamental forces. See also → grand unified theory, → theory of everything, → phase transition.

→ spontaneous; → symmetry; → break.

An → atomic transition that gives rise to a → spontaneous emission.

→ spontaneous; → transition.

A characteristic of a spring which is defined as the ratio of the force affecting the spring to the displacement caused by the force. In other words, the spring constant is the force applied if the displacement in the spring is unity. It is expressed by the equation k = -F/x (from → Hooke's law), where F = force applied, x = displacement by the spring. The spring constant is usually expressed in Newton per meter (N/m).

→ spring; → force.

A professional astronomer who works within a specified observatory or research group.

→ staff; → astronomer.

The state or condition of not flowing or running. → stagnation point, → stagnation pressure.

L. stagnatum, stagnatus, p.p. of stagnare "to stagnate," from stagnatum "standing water," from PIE root *stag- "to seep drip."

Nâravâni, literally "not flowing," from nâ- negation prefix, → un-, + ravân "flowing, running," pr.p. of raftan "to go, walk; to flow;" (Mid.Pers. raftan, raw-, Proto-Iranian *rab/f- "to go; to attack").

A point where the → flow  → velocity is → zero. For example a point around an obstacle where a → flow tube splits into two portions.

→ stagnation; → point.

The sum of → static pressure and → dynamic pressure in the → Bernoulli equation.

→ stagnation; → pressure.

An uncastrated adult male horse, especially one used for breeding.

M.E. stalon, from O.Fr. estalon, "uncastrated male horse," cognate with O.H.G. stal "stable," cf. O.H.G. stall "stand, place, stable, stall," Ger. Stall "stable," Stelle "place"), from PIE root *stel- "to put, stand," with derivatives referring to a standing object or place; akin to Pers. istâdan "to stand," → station.

Nariyân, from nar "male," → masculine.

The most widely used measure of dispersion of a frequency distribution. It is equal to the positive square root of the → variance. Same as → standard error. Not to be confused with the → root mean square error.

→ standard; → deviation.