Science and SF Glossary

Developed by Kae Cheatham,
author of Child of the Mist and other speculative fiction titles

Kae's home page :: Kae's book page

Technical and descriptive words found in Speculative (Science) Fiction are often real-world scientific terms. They mostly get used as the common definition allows, but sometimes fiction gives them slightly different meanings. In a few cases, made-up words have become SF standards, such as replicator.
 
These definitions have been compiled from Webster's Collegiate 11th edition, Chambers 20th Century Dictonary, Megweb, and popular SF fiction. This is a perpetual Work In Progress. SF-only words are marked with SF (duh).
 
~ Information about technology from all the Star Trek Series can be found in the Star Trek Library
 
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


~A~

android
a mobile robot, usually with human form
ansibles SF originally from LeGuin, also used by Moon and other authors devices that use unique physics to communicate across galaxies; a hypothetical faster-than-light communication device.
anthrop-(prefix)
of or relating (similar to) to human beings
artificial intelligence (AI)
1. a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers;
2. the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior.
SF - An intelligent consciousness capable of self-awareness, development and creation.
astronomical unit (AU)
a unit length equal to the distance from Earth to our sun--approximately 150 million kilometers (93 million miles).
avatar
an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer user (as in a computer game)
azimuth
the arc of the horizon between the meridian of a place and the vertical circle passing through any celestial body.

~B~

bionic
having normal biological qualities enhanced by electronics.
black hole
a celestial object that has a gravitational field so strong that light cannot escape it; believed to be created especially in the collapse of a very large star.

~C~

cybernetics
the science of communication and control theory that is concerned esp. with the comparative study of automatic control systems (as in nervous system and brain and mechanical-electrical communication systems)
cyberspace
the online world of computer networks, e.g. the Internet
cyborg(s)
[from cybernetic + organism] a bionic human.
SF - a robot with human or biological elements.
clone
the aggregate of genetically identical cells or organisms asexually produced by a single progenitor cell or organism;
SF - an human individual grown from a single somatic cell or cell nucleus and genetically identical to the donor.
cryonics
the practice of freezing a person who has died of a disease in hopes if restoring life at some future time when a cure for the disease has been developed.

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