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

One of several nuclides having the same number of neutrons in their nuclei but differing in the number of protons.

Isotone, from → iso- + tone, from Gk tonos "strain, tone, mode," literally, "a stretching," akin to teinein "to stretch," cognate with Pers. tanidan "to spin, twist, weave" (Mid.Pers. tanitan; Av. tan- "to stretch, extend;" cf. Skt. tan- to spin, stretch;" tanoti "stretches," tantram "loom;" Gk. teinein "to stretch, pull tight;" L. tendere "to stretch; PIE base *ten- "to stretch;" Pers. târ "string," tân "thread," tur "fishing net, net, snare," and tâl "thread" (Borujerdi dialect) belong to this family; variants tanta "cobweb," tanadu, tafen, kartané, kârtané, kâtené, Pashtu tanistah "cobweb;" cf. Skt. tantu- "cobweb, thread, string").

A → sedimentary rock composed principally of calcium carbonate. Limestone is usually formed from shells of once-living organisms or other organic processes, but may also form by inorganic precipitation.

→ lime; → stone.

A note of lesser intensity and higher frequency than the fundamental note, and superimposed upon the latter to give a note of characteristic quality. Overtones whose frequencies are an integral multiple of the fundamental are said to form a harmonic series. The fundamental with a frequency f₁ is the first harmonic. The frequency 2f₁ is the first overtone and so on.

→ over-; → tone.

A compact, hot, and → neutrino-rich object that results from a → supernova explosion and is a transition between an → iron core and a → neutron star or → black hole. The life span of a protoneutron star is less than one minute.

→ proto-; → neutron; → star.

Variously colored → sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-like quartz grains cemented by calcite, clay, or iron oxide. The sand accumulated originally underwater in shallow seas or lakes, or on the ground along shorelines or in desert regions.

→ sand; → stone.

The hard nonmetallic mineral or group of consolidated minerals either in mass or in a fragment of pebble or larger size. See also → rock.

O.E. stan; cf. O.N. steinn, Dan. steen, O.H.G., Ger. Stein; from PIE *stai- "stone," also "to thicken, stiffen" (cf. Skt. styayate "curdles, becomes hard;" Av. stay- "heap;" Gk. stear "fat, tallow," stia, stion "pebble").

Sang "stone, rock;" Mid.Pers. sang; O.Pers. aθanga-; Av. asenga- "stone;" PIE *aken-.

A prehistoric period during which the main material used to make tools and weapons was stone. The Stone Age is usually divided into three separate periods (Paleolithic Period, Mesolithic Period, and Neolithic Period) based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of tools. The Paleolithic time period is by far the longest, beginning some two million years ago and ending around 10,000 BC to coincide with the end of the last ice age (Pleistocene epoch).

→ stone; → age.

A musical sound of definite pitch, consisting of several relatively simple constituents called partial tones, the lowest of which is called the fundamental tone and the others harmonics or overtones.

M.E., from O.Fr. ton, from L. tonus "a sound, tone, accent," literally "stretching," from Gk. tonos "vocal pitch, raising of voice," related to teinein "to stretch," cognate with Pers. tanidan "to spin, weave," → tension.

Ton, loan from Fr., as above.

An device consisting of four → resistances in series, used to determine the value of an unknown electrical resistance when the other three resistances are known.

Named after Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), British physicist, who extensively used the circuit (1843) but was not its inventor. Such an arrangement of four resistances was first used by Samuel Hunter Christie (1784-1865) in 1833; → bridge.