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

A software with a specific function, such as a word processor or game. Contrast with operating system software.

→ application; → software.

General: Delicate in texture, grain, or fiber.
Not bright or glaring.
Physics: Of a beam of particles or electromagnetic radiation, having relatively low energy, as opposed to → hard. → soft X-rays

M.E. softe "yielding, gentle, mild;" O.E. softe "gentle, easy;" cf. O.S. safti, O.H.G. semfti, Ger. sanft, M.Du. sachte, Du. zacht.

Narm "soft; smooth; mild," from Mid.Pers. narm "soft; humble."

In → stellar dynamics studies of → three-body encounters, a → binary system whose → binding energy is smaller than the typical → kinetic energy of the relative motion of an incoming third body. See also → hard binary.

→ soft; → binary.

A member of a small class of objects which emit intense bursts of → gamma rays and → X-rays (> 100 keV) at irregular intervals. The bursts last for some 100 milli-seconds. It is conjectured that they are → magnetars. See also → starquake.

→ soft; → gamma rays; → repeater.

Same as → soft gamma repeater (SGR).

→ soft; → gamma ray; → repeater.

Iron that has a low carbon content, in contrast to → steel. Because it is easily magnetized and demagnetized, it is used to make the cores of → solenoids and other electrical equipment.

→ soft; → iron.

The back, muscular (not bony) part of the roof of the → mouth in front of the → pharynx.

→ soft; → palate.

An → X-ray binary system that has a long period of → quiescence interrupted by → outbursts of low-energy → soft X-rays. Alternatively known as X-ray novae, the majority (~ 75%) of SXTs contain a → black hole and a low-mass → main sequence  → companion star in orbit around one another. It is thought that SXTs arise in a similar manner to → dwarf novae, through instabilities in the → accretion disk around the → compact object (→ disk instability model).

→ soft; → X-ray; → transient..

X-ray photons with energies between about 0.1 to 10 keV. → hard X-rays.

→ soft; → X-rays.

A general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures, and documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system. → hardware.

→ soft + ware, from M.E., from O.E. waru, from P.Gmc. *waro (cf. Swed. vara, Dan. vare, M.Du. were, Du. waar, Ger. Ware "goods").

Narm, → soft + afzâr "instrument, means, tool," from Mid.Pers. afzâr, abzâr, awzâr "instrument, means," Proto-Iranian *abi-cāra- or *upa-cāra-, from cāra-, cf. Av. cārā- "instrument, device, means" (Mid.Pers. câr, cârag "means, remedy;" loaned into Arm. aucar, aucan "instrument, remedy;" Mod.Pers. câré "remedy, cure, help"), from kar- "to do, make, build;" kərənaoiti "he makes" (Pers. kardan, kard- "to do, to make"); cf. Skt. kr- "to do, to make," krnoti "he makes, he does," karoti "he makes, he does," karma "act, deed;" PIE base k^wer- "to do, to make").

The overall structure of a software system consisting of mutually dependent components that create a logical whole.

→ software; → architecture.

A part of the system software designed to support the operation of application software and is used to manage the computer files. Examples of utility software are disk diagnosis program, backup software, password generation software, and virus protection software. Also called utilities.

→ utility; → software.