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

The hypothetical → particle that mediates the hypothetical → inflaton field.

From inflat-, from → inflaton field, + particle suffix → -on.

A hypothetical → scalar field that provides a theoretical basis for → inflation in the early → Big Bang history of the → Universe. The inflaton field would fill space with the same energy at every point. In general, the scalar field can vary with time and space, though to a first approximation everywhere in the Universe will have the same value at any time. The field has a particle associated with it, called → inflaton, just as the → electromagnetic field is associated with the → photon. The inflaton field is characterized also by a → negative pressure that would yield a tremendous → repulsive gravity during a brief lapse of time. In the earliest moments of the Universe, space is uniformly filled with an inflaton field, whose value places it higher up on its → potential energy curve. The inflaton's → potential energy would drop in a tiny fraction of a second, on the order of 10^-35 seconds. And yet, during that brief instant, space would expand by a colossal factor, of at least 10³⁰.

→ inflaton; → field.

1) General: To bend in, to turn from a direct line or course.
2) Grammar: To change the ending or form of a word in accordance with other words in a sentence. To apply → inflection to.

From M.E. inflecten, from L. inflectere "to bend in, bow, curve," figuratively, "to change," from → in- + flectere "to bend, to curve," of uncertain origin.

Darcaftidan, from dar-, → in-, + caftidan, → flex.

A change in the form of a word to indicate a change in such grammatical features as tense, person, gender, case, number, voice, or mood. A general term for → declension and → conjugation.

Verbal noun of → inflect.

A point on a → curve at which the → tangent changes direction, from rotating in one sense to rotating in the opposite sense.

→ inflection; → point.

Of, relating to, or characterized by the use of → inflection, e.g. → inflectional affix.

→ inflection + → -al.

An → inflection that is added at the end of a root word. In English there are eight inflectional affixes, which are all suffixes. They always follow derivational suffixes and do not change the category of a word.

→ inflectional + → affix.

1) The act or process of flowing in or into. Something that flows in or into. Opposite of → outflow.
2) Meteo: Flow of water into a stream, lake, reservoir, container, basin, aquifer system, etc.

Inflow, from → in- + → flow.

1) The act or power of producing an → effect, especially inconspicuously; the effect of power exerted.
2) To have or exert influence on; affect.

M.E., from O.Fr. influence, from L. influentia "stellar emanation" (it was thought an ethereal liquid flowed from the stars and affected the destiny of humans), also "a flow of water, a flowing in," from L. influentem (nominative influens), pr.p. of influere "to flow into," from → in- "into, in, on, upon" + fluere "to flow;" PIE base *bhleu- "to swell, overflow;" cf. Gk. phluein "to boil over, bubble up," phlein "to abound."

Hanâyeš "influence" (Borhân-e Qâte'; Kasravi). We suggest the following origin for this word: ultimately from Proto-Ir. *ha-nai "to conduct, direct, guide, lead," from *ham-naiH-, from prefix *ham- "together," also an intensive prefix, → com-, + *naiH- "to lead, conduct, guide;" cf. Av. naii- (naŷ-) "to lead, guide," naiieiti "leads;" O.Pers. nay- "to lead, bring" anaya "leads;" Mid.Pers. nidan, ônidan, nay- "to lead, bring;" Sogd. n'y- "to lead;" Choresmian (prefixed, + *apa-) bny- "to remove;" Skt. nī- "to lead," náyati "leads." In dialects: Anâraki niye "to bring, lead;" Kurd. (prefixed) ânin, inân, (with prefix ham-) hânin, hênân "to bring, lead to," Tâleši ânân, ânoe "to bring together two edges;" Zazaki ân- "to bring;" Qohrudi hunda, hun- "to bring, lead;" Târi niya-, neg- "to lead;" Lasgardi (prefixed) bin- "to bring, carry;" Qomi niyé, Tafreši neyé "a jab or poke used for leading the cattle;" see also → relate.

1) To impart → knowledge of a fact or circumstance.
2) To supply (oneself) with knowledge of a matter or subject (dictionary.com).
3) To convey → information.
See also: → informatics, → information theory.

Inform, from M.E. informen, from O.Fr. enformer, from L. informare "to shape, form; to form an idea of," from → in- "into" + → forma "form."

Azdâyidan, from Mid.Pers. azdênidan "to inform," from azd "information, proclamation; known" (loaned into Arm. azd), from O.Pers. azdā "known," azdā kar "to become known;" Av. azdā "known;" Sogdian 'zd' "informed, known;" cf. Skt. addhā' "manifestly; certainly, truly," addhāti "sage."

A person who gives → information.

From → inform + -ant a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from verbs.

The science concerned with gathering, manipulating, storing, retrieving, and classifying recorded → information. Also called → information science, computer science.

Informatics, from informat(ion), → information + → ics.

1) Knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction, etc.
2) Knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news.
3) The act or fact of informing.
4) A sequence of signals that conveys a message to a receiver. Information does not exist on its own. It is contained within something and is coded. The notion of information involves → uncertainty and → randomness; hence the necessity for calling on → probability theory and → statistics.
See also: → information content, → information entropy, → information flow, → information paradox, → information science, → information technology, → information theory, → infosphere, → quantum information, → entropy.

Verbal noun of → inform.

The → negative of the → logarithm of the → probability that a particular → message or → symbol will be emitted by a → source.

→ information; → content.

The measure of information, which is usually expressed by the average number of bits needed for storage or communication. In other words, the degree to which the values of a → random variable X are dispersed. If the → probability density function of X is P(x), the entropy is defined by: H(X) = -Σ P(x) log P(x). Also called → Shannon entropy.

→ information; → entropy.

The flow of data into a system or to the end users.

→ information; → flow.

A paradox raised in 1976 by S. Hawking (1942-2018) whose analysis of the thermodynamic properties of → black holes led him to the prediction that black holes are not in fact black, but radiate due to quantum effects. This implied that, due to the → Hawking radiation, a black hole would eventually evaporate away, leaving nothing. This deduction presented a problem for → quantum mechanics, which maintains that information can never be lost. This topic is a matter of intense debate. Many solutions have been proposed, but all of them have serious drawbacks. In order to analyze better these solutions one needs a quantum gravity theory, which does not exist at the moment. In brief, either the idea of → quantum unitarity must be given up, or a mechanism should be found by which information is not lost after it falls into a black hole.

→ information; → paradox.

Same as → informatics.

→ information; → science.

The science and activity of receiving, storing, processing, and transmitting information by using → computers.

→ information; → technology.

The mathematical theory that defines, quantifies, and analyzes the concept of → information. It involves → probability theory in → transmission of → messages when the → bits of information are subject to various distortions. Its goal is to enable as much information as possible to be reliably stored on a medium, retrieved, or communicated.
See also:
→ information content, → information entropy, → information flow, → information paradox, → information science, → information theory, → quantum information, → entropy.

→ information; → theory.