Science and SF Glossary ~ K - O
~K~
- klick(s) (kilk)
- SF - a kilometer
~L~
- laser
- A word formed by the acronym of : Light Amplification by Stimulated Emissions of Radiation
- meaning: a device that utilizes particle oscillations between energy levels for generating beams of electromagnetic radiation...
- LED
- abbreviation for "light-emitting diode"
- light speed
- SF - the velocity needed to propel an object at the speed of light.
- light-year
- a unit of time that is equivalent to the distance light travels in one year in a vacuum, approximately 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers)
~M~
- magnitude
- a number representing the intensity of a star's apparent brightness.
- meme
- a contagious idea (coined by Richard Dawkins)
- megacryometeorslarge balls of ice that form in the atmosphere and often fall to earth (National Weather Service)
~N~
- nanotechnology
- (derived from molecular engineering) the ability to manufacture and manipulate materials at the molecular or atomic level
- nanobot
- SF - A robot of microscopic proportions, presumably built by means of nanotechnology. As yet, only used informally (and speculatively!).
Also called a nanoagent.
- nebula
- any of numerous clouds of gas or dust in interstellar space.
SF - a galaxy other than the Milky Way
~O~
- Oort cloud
- a spherical shell of cometary bodies believed to surround the sun far beyond the orbit of pluto and from which some are dislodged when perturbed (as by a passing star) to fall toward the sun. (Named for Dutch astronomer Jan Oort)
- outer sector
- the space of a galaxy found beyond an anomaly (such as asteroid belts)