Dictionary of the Physical Sciences: Terms, Formulas, Data

390 Pages·2016·72.47 MB·English

by  Emiliani C.

Dictionary of the Physical Sciences

DICTIONARY
OF THE
PHYSICAL
Terms Formulas Data
* •
CESARE
EMILIANI
University of Miami
New York • Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
—
Oxford University Press
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Copyright © 1987 Cesare Emiliani
PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,
200MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork 10016
OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress.
Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Emiliani,Cesare.
Dictionaryofthephysicalsciences.
Bibliography:p.
1. Science—Dictionarie—s. 2.Science—Handbooks,manuals,etc.
3. Engineering Dictionaries.4. Engineering
Handbooks,manuals,etc. I. Title.
Q123.E46 1987 503'.21 85-13594
ISBN0-19-503651-4
ISBN0-19-503652-2(pbk.)
24689753
1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
Guidelines
This dictionary consists oftext and tables. All areas that are fundamental
to understanding our physical world, and life within it, are covered. In-
cluded are physics (classical, relativistic, quantum, particle, high-energy);
chemistry (inorganic, organic, physical); the geological sciences (geology,
geophysics, oceanography, meteorology, paleontology, and related areas of
molecular, genetic, and evolutionary biology); and cosmology (which in-
cludes astronomy, astrophysics, and the genesis and evolution of the
universe).
The text includes not only definitions, but also explanations, formulas,
and data. Entries best presented in tabular form are found in the Tables
section. Any unfamiliarterm appearing in the text orthe Tables is defined
andexplained in the text. Acronymsandabbreviationsare spelledout, but
their definition and additional material, ifnecessary, will be found under
the full term.
All entries in the text as well as all headings ofthe Tables are in strict
alphabetical order, without regard to spaces, punctuations, or numbers ap-
pearing as part ofan entry or heading. Greek letters are placed at the ap-
propriate locations within the corresponding Latin alphabet. In case ofa
tie {a, a), precedence is given to the Greek letter.
All quantities in both text and tables are given to the last significant,
most recent figure.
An asterisk followinga term in the textrefers the readerto the pertinent
table.
Sources for the illustrations and tables are given in the standard abbre-
viated form below each pertinent item. The full reference is given in the
reference section which follows the tables. The word "From" preceding a
given reference indicatesthat the original material has been modified, aug-
mented, or recalculated. Absence ofthe word "From" indicates that the
material is reproduced as it appeared in the original. Ifno source is given,
the material has been developed, calculated, or otherwised derived by the
present author.
Reproduction of materials from published sources is with the written
consent ofthe original authors and publishers.

Acknowledgments and Dedication
The author is grateful to the following persons and publishers:
For suggestions, comments, and criticism:
Dr. Stephen W. Bruenn, Florida Atlantic University; Dr. James S. Clegg,
University ofCalifornia; Dr. Preston Cloud, University ofCalifornia; Dr.
Cecil M. Criss, University ofMiami; Dr. Pamela A. Ferguson, University
ofMiami; Dr. Robert M. Garrels, University ofSouth Florida; Dr. James
C. Nearing, University of Miami; Dr. Arnold Perlmutter, University of
Miami; Dr. Jeffrey G. Taylor, University ofNew Mexico; Dr. Kamal Ya-
coub. University of Miami; Dr. Michael Zeilik, University of New
Mexico.
For permission to reproduce original materials:
Academic Press, New York; Dr. Edward Anders, University ofChicago/
Chicago; Edward Arnold Pubhshers, London; Bell & Hyman, London;
Geb. Borntraeger, Berlin; Dr. Geoffrey Burbidge, Kitt Peak National Ob-
servatory, Tucson, Arizona; CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida; ElsevierSci-
ence Publishers, Amsterdam; Dr. Gunther Faure, Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio; W. H. Freeman and Co., New York; Jones and Bartlett
Publishers, Boston; Dr. Lynn Margulis, Boston University, Boston;
McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York; MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachu-
setts;OxfordUniversityPress, Oxford, England; Prentice-Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey; D. Reidel Publishing Co., Dordrecht, Holland; Dr. A.
N. Strahler, Santa Barbara, California; Dr. J. K. Tuli, Brookhaven Na-
tional Laboratory, Upton, New York; Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New
York; John Wiley & Sons, New York; Worth Publishers, New York.
For technical assistance:
Joyce Berry, Joan Bossert, Ellen Leventhal, and Leslie Phillips, Oxford
University Press; Jeffrey M. Barrie, University Graphics, Inc., Atlantic
Highlands, New Jersey.
This book is dedicated to Rosita Emiliani.
Coral Gables, Florida C. E.
May 1987