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fluid balance: (from the article "human disease") Fluid and electrolyte imbalances may be further consequences of homeostatic failure and additional significant manifestations of disease. The causes of these abnormalities are complex. Edema, or swelling, results from shifts ...
fluid catalytic cracking: (from the article "petroleum refining") ...units produced small quantities of unstable naphthas and large amounts of by-product coke. While they succeeded in providing a small increase in gasoline yields, it was the commercialization of the ...
fluid coupling: (from the article "automatic transmission") ...of gears from low to high (ratios of the speeds of drive shaft and engine shaft) until the two shafts are directly connected through the oil in the fluid drive, ...
fluid flow: (from the article "fluid mechanics") science concerned with the response of fluids to forces exerted upon them. It is a branch of classical physics with applications of great importance in hydraulic and aeronautical engineering, chemical ...
fluid intelligence: (from the article "human behaviour") Psychometric approaches to cognition suggest that intelligence is characterized by two distinct properties. Fluid intelligence, measured by tests that minimize the role of cultural knowledge, reflects the degree to which ...
fluid mechanics: science concerned with the response of fluids to forces exerted upon them. It is a branch of classical physics with applications of great importance in hydraulic and aeronautical engineering, chemical ...
fluid pressure: (from the article "fluid mechanics") ...these stresses may be. They do so at a rate determined by the fluid's viscosity. This property, about which more will be said later, is a measure of the friction ...
fluid-film lubrication: (from the article "lubrication") Interposing a fluid film that completely separates sliding surfaces results in this type of lubrication. The fluid may be introduced intentionally, as the oil in the main bearings of an ...
fluid-four formation: (from the article "air warfare") ...of the stratosphere, jet fighters were far less maneuverable than their propeller-driven predecessors. This made necessary a formation even more flexible than the finger-four. One solution was the fluid-four, in ...
fluid-jet loom: (from the article "textile") ...of the number of rapiers employed and the type of selvage provided; some of them operate by gripping the free end of the weft and conveying that through the shed ...
fluidics: the technology of using the flow characteristics of liquid or gas to operate a control system (q.v.). One of the newest of the control technologies, fluidics has in recent years ...
fluidity: (from the article "viscosity") ...of a fluid (liquid or gas) to a change in shape, or movement of neighbouring portions relative to one another. Viscosity denotes opposition to flow. The reciprocal of the viscosity ...
fluidized-bed combustion: (from the article "coal utilization") In fluidized-bed combustion, a bed of crushed solid particles (usually six millimetres or less) is made to behave like a fluid by an airstream passing from the bottom of the ...
fluidized-bed freezer: (from the article "food preservation") Fluidized-bed freezers are used to freeze particulate foods such as peas, cut corn, diced carrots, and strawberries. The foods are placed on a mesh conveyor belt and moved through a ...
fluidized-bed roasting: (from the article "metallurgy") Fluidized-bed roasters (see figure) have found wide acceptance because of their high capacity and efficiency. They can be used for oxidizing, sulfatizing, and volatilizing roasts. The roaster is a refractory-lined, ...
fluke: any member of the invertebrate class Trematoda (phylum Platyhelminthes), a group of parasitic flatworms that probably evolved from free-living forms millions of years ago. There are more than 10,000 species ... [12 Related Articles]
fluke: (from the article "anchor") device, usually of metal, attached to a ship or boat by a cable or chain and lowered to the seabed to hold the vessel in a particular place by means ...
fluke: (from the article "cetacean") ...in all cetacea but the dwarf and pygmy sperm whales. Flippers help to steer, while the back muscles, which are very large, drive the tail to propel the animal. Cetaceans ...
Flume, the: (from the article "Franconia Notch") ...Hampshire, U.S. The pass is located in Grafton county just north of North Woodstock and is about 8 miles (13 km) long. An impressive example of glacial action, the pass ...
Flumendosa River: river that rises in the Gennargentu Mountains in southeastern Sardinia, Italy, and flows 79 miles (127 km) west and southeast, entering the Tyrrhenian Sea near Muravera. The Ente Autonomo del ...
fluor: (from the article "radiation measurement") ...organic scintillators take many different forms. The earliest were pure crystals of anthracene or stilbene. More recently, organics are used primarily in the form of liquid solutions of an organic ...
fluorapatite: common phosphate mineral, a calcium fluoride phosphate, Ca₅(PO₄)₃F. It occurs as minute, often green, glassy crystals in many igneous rocks, and also in magnetite deposits, high-temperature hydrothermal veins, and metamorphic ... [3 Related Articles]
fluorescein: organic compound of molecular formula C₂₀H₁₂O₅ that has wide use as a synthetic colouring agent. It is prepared by heating phthalic anhydride and resorcinol over a zinc catalyst, and it ... [3 Related Articles]
fluorescence: (from the article "analysis") ...the lower electron orbital without inverting its spin-i.e., without changing the direction in which the electron rotates in the presence of a magnetic field. This phenomenon, known as fluorescence, occurs ...
fluorescence detector: (from the article "chromatography") ...that contains a light-sensitive group and passing the product through the detector. Solutes may contain groups that absorb light at one wavelength and reemit light of a different wavelength. The ...
fluorescence in situ hybridization: technique that employs fluorescent probes for the detection of specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences in chromosomes. FISH has a much higher rate of sensitivity and specificity than other genetic diagnostic ... [2 Related Articles]
fluorescence photography: process that records the glow or visible light given off by certain substances when they are irradiated by ultraviolet rays. The exclusively ultraviolet irradiation is accomplished by means of a ...
fluorescent brightening agent: (from the article "dye") Raw natural fibres, paper, and plastics tend to appear yellowish because of weak light absorption near 400 nm by certain peptides and natural pigments in wool and silk, by natural ...
fluorescent lamp: electric discharge lamp, cooler and more efficient than incandescent lamps, that produces light by the fluorescence of a phosphor coating. A fluorescent lamp consists of a glass tube filled with ... [12 Related Articles]
fluorescent microscope: (from the article "microbiology") ...liquid on a special slide and can be observed in a living condition; useful for determining motility of microorganisms or some special morphological characteristic such as spiral or coiled shapes.
fluoridation: (from the article "dentistry") ...fluoride, which protects teeth against decay. As a result, public health officials established measures to add fluoride to public water supplies in communities around the United States. Since fluoridation was ...
fluoride: (from the article "Common simple cations and anions") ...a halogen is itself reduced; i.e., the oxidation number 0 of the free element is reduced to −1. The halogens can combine with other elements to form compounds known as ...
fluoride deficiency: condition in which fluoride is insufficient or is not utilized properly. Fluoride is a mineral stored in teeth and bones that strengthens them by aiding in the retention of calcium. ...
fluorine: most reactive chemical element and the lightest member of the halogen elements, or Group 17 (Group VIIa) of the periodic table. [16 Related Articles]
fluorine dating: (from the article "geochronology") ...provided that all the other natural variables remain constant. Soil permeability, rainfall, temperature, and the concentration of fluorine in groundwater all vary with time and location, however. Fluorine dating is ...
fluorite: common halide mineral, calcium fluoride (CaF₂); the principal fluorine mineral. It is usually quite pure, but as much as 20 percent yttrium or cerium may replace calcium. Fluorite occurs most ... [7 Related Articles]
fluorocarbon: (from the article "fluorocarbon") compound composed of the elements carbon and fluorine; see halocarbon.halocarbonshalocarbon...the element carbon and one or more of the halogens (bromine, ...
fluoroelastomer: (from the article "industrial polymers, major") A number of fluorinated polymers or copolymers having elastomeric properties are produced that incorporate the monomers vinylidene fluoride (CH₂&doublehorzbond;CF₂), hexafluoropropylene (CF₂&doublehorzbond;CFCF₃), and chlorotrifluoroethylene (CF₂&doublehorzbond;CFCl) in addition to tetrafluoroethylene. These elastomers ...
fluorometer: (from the article "analysis") ...is usually placed perpendicular to the path of the incident radiation in order to eliminate the possibility of monitoring the incident radiation. Devices that are used to measure fluorescence are ...
fluoroquinolone: (from the article "drug") The fluoroquinolone antibiotics (e.g., norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, enoxacin, trovafloxacin) are synthetic compounds based on the chemical structure of nalidixic acid, a quinolone that is used as a urinary tract antiseptic. Originally ...
fluoroscope: instrument consisting of a surface containing chemicals called phosphors that glow when struck by X rays or gamma rays; it is used to transform images made up of invisible radiations ... [2 Related Articles]
fluoroscopy: (from the article "fluoroscope") ...surface containing chemicals called phosphors that glow when struck by X rays or gamma rays; it is used to transform images made up of invisible radiations into visible light. In ...
fluorosis: chronic intoxication with fluorine (usually combined with some other element to form a fluoride) that results in changes in the skeleton and ossification of tendons and ligaments. Exposure to fluoride ... [1 Related Articles]
fluphenazine decanoate: (from the article "Tourette syndrome") ...though symptoms may improve with age. Medications are used only when symptoms interfere with functioning; haloperidol is the most commonly prescribed medication for Tourette syndrome, but pimozide, fluphenazine, clonazepam, and ...
flush-pin gauge: (from the article "gauge") Flush-pin gauges have one moving part and are used to gauge the depth of shoulders or holes. Form gauges are used to check the profile of objects; two of the ...
Flushing: northern section of the borough of Queens, New York City, U.S., at the head of Flushing Bay (East River). Settled in 1645 by English Nonconformists (who had probably been living ...
flushing: (from the article "tree") ...the seedling resembles a clump of grass. This is probably an adaptation to fire, water stress, and perhaps grazing. The root volume, however, continues to grow, increasing the chance of ...
flute: (from the article "molding") ...quarter-ellipse, or similar curve. (2) A scotia molding is similar to the cavetto but has a deeper concavity partially receding beyond the face of the general surface that it ornaments. ...
flute: wind instrument in which the sound is produced by a stream of air directed against a sharp edge, upon which the air breaks up into eddies that alternate regularly above ... [18 Related Articles]
flute: (from the article "glacial landform") The depositional equivalent of erosional knob-and-tail structures (see above) are known as flutes. Close to the lower margin, some glaciers accumulate so much debris beneath them that they actually glide ...
flute: (from the article "hand tool") ...at which the crank is turned. The one-directional motion allowed better drills to be designed, and, with their greater efficiency in chip production, it was not long (1822) before drills ...
flute family: (from the article "wind instrument") In edge instruments (or flutes), an airstream directed against a sharp edge sets an adjoining air column within a tube into regular pulsations, producing sound. Flutes are divided into so-called ...
flute tone: (from the article "bel canto") ...on an exact control of the intensity of vocal tone, a recognition of the distinction between the "diapason tone" (produced when the larynx is in a relatively low position) and ...
Flutie, Doug: He had to wait 14 years, but in 1998, at age 36, quarterback Doug Flutie took the National Football League (NFL) by storm. He led the Buffalo Bills to a ... [1 Related Articles]
fluting and reeding: in architectural decoration, surfaces worked into a regular series of (vertical) concave grooves or convex ridges, frequently used on columns. In Classical architecture fluting and reeding are used in the ... [1 Related Articles]
flutter and wow: in sound reproduction, waver in a reproduced tone or group of tones that is caused by irregularities in turntable or tape drive speed during recording, duplication, or reproduction. Low-frequency irregularities ... [1 Related Articles]
fluvial pothole: (from the article "moulin") ...transported by the falling water. A moulin pothole in Lucerne, Switz., was scoured to a depth of 8 m (27 feet). Although the process of formation is thought to be ...
fluvial process: the physical interaction of flowing water and the natural channels of rivers and streams. Such processes play an essential and conspicuous role in the denudation of land surfaces and the ... [2 Related Articles]
fluviokarst: (from the article "cave") ...valleys. Within these broad constraints, karst landscapes show much variation and are usually described in terms of a dominant landform. Most important with respect to worldwide occurrence are fluviokarst, doline ...
Fluvisol: one of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Fluvisols are found typically on level topography that is flooded periodically by surface ...
flux: (from the article "nervous system") By permitting a flux of Na⁺ into the cell, the opening of ion channels slightly depolarizes the membrane. The extent to which the membrane is depolarized depends upon the extent ...
flux: (from the article "nature, philosophy of") On the other hand, the flux of a vector field V out of a closed surface can be formed by integration. If this flux is always zero ...
flux: in metallurgy, any substance introduced in the smelting of ores to promote fluidity and to remove objectionable impurities in the form of slag. Limestone is commonly used for this purpose ... [5 Related Articles]
flux: (from the article "enamelwork") ...a compound of flint or sand, red lead, and soda or potash. These materials are melted together, producing an almost clear glass, with a slightly bluish or greenish tinge; this ...
flux leakage path: (from the article "electric motor") ...of the rotor bars, the rotor currents would be extremely high. The starting current is, however, limited by additional paths for the magnetic field around the stator and rotor conductors, ...
flux-gate magnetometer: (from the article "geomagnetic field") An instrument that complements the proton-precession magnetometer is the flux-gate magnetometer. In contrast to the proton-precession magnetometer, the flux-gate device measures the three components of the field vector rather than ...
fluxion: in mathematics, the original term for derivative (q.v.), introduced by Isaac Newton in 1665. Newton referred to a varying (flowing) quantity as a fluent and to its instantaneous rate of ... [1 Related Articles]
fluxoturbidity: (from the article "ocean") ...currents and deposits formed by other current types is quite complex and requires a careful assessment of all lines of evidence in each case. Some ancient sandstones have been interpreted ...
Fluxus: a loose international group of artists, poets, and musicians whose primary aesthetic impulse was to integrate life into art through the use of found events, sounds, and materials. More than ...
fluyt: (from the article "ship") ...after the early 17th century. The Dutch competitors of England were able to build and operate merchant ships more cheaply. In the 16th century the sailing ship in general service ...
fly: any of several thousand species of insects characterized by the use of only one pair of wings for flight and the reduction of the second pair of wings to knobs ... [4 Related Articles]
fly agaric: (from the article "Representative poisonous mushrooms") Other sources of bufotenine are the mushroom Amanita muscaria and the tropical American tree Piptadenia peregrina, the seeds of which were used at the time of the early Spanish explorations ...
fly ash: (from the article "environmental works") ...leaving an inert residue of ash, glass, metal, and other solid materials called bottom ash. The gaseous by-products of incomplete combustion, along with finely divided particulate material called fly ash, ...
fly ball: (from the article "baseball") ...run (permitting the batter to leisurely "trot" around the bases. Hits also are described by the way the ball travels across the field. Driven balls are generally categorized as flies ...
fly flower: (from the article "orchid") Some flies are important pollinators of flowers, and certain families of flies (e.g., the Syrphidae and Bombyliidae) are restricted to flowers for their food. Unspecialized flowers may attract flies to ...
fly orchid: (from the article "Ophrys") ...to copulate with the flowers, which resemble females of their own species. During this process, pollen sacs become attached to the insect's body and are transferred to the next flowers ...
fly press: (from the article "coin") The prolific Jean Warin, one of the great engravers, finally established the use of the fly press, a variation on the screw press in which the helix angle of the ...
Fly River: one of the largest rivers of the island of New Guinea, flowing almost wholly through Papua New Guinea. For a short stretch of its middle course, it forms the border ... [1 Related Articles]
fly whisk: (from the article "art and architecture, Oceanic") As a rule, personal property and household equipment in the Society Islands were simple and unadorned, but fly whisks, which were necessary to keep off the swarms of flies that ...
fly-by-wire: (from the article "airplane") ...aircraft, there is no direct mechanical linkage between the pilot's controls and the control surfaces; instead they are actuated by electric motors. The catch phrase for this arrangement is "fly-by-wire." ...
fly-catcher plant: (Cephalotus follicularis), only species in the flowering plant family Cephalotaceae (order Oxalidales), native to damp sandy or swampy terrain in southwestern Australia. It is a perennial herb with a deep ... [2 Related Articles]
Fly-Digul shelf: (from the article "New Guinea") South of the central mountain chain is the Fly-Digul shelf, a vast swampy plain crossed by numerous rivers including the Fly, Bian, Digul, Mapi, Pulau, and Lorentz. To the southeast ...
fly-fishing: method of angling employing a long rod, typically 7 to 11 feet (2 to 3.5 metres) in length, constructed of carbon fibre, fibreglass, or bamboo, and a simple arbor reel ... [1 Related Articles]
fly-tying: the hobby or business of imitating the live food of gamefish by attaching various materials to a hook. Most often used to imitate various life stages of insects, the craft ...
flyball governor: (from the article "control system") ...of the 17th century was kept facing the wind by the action of an auxiliary vane that moved the entire upper part of the mill. The most famous example from ...
flycatcher: any of a number of perching birds (order Passeriformes) that dart out to capture insects on the wing, particularly members of the Old World songbird family Muscicapidae (q.v.) and of ... [3 Related Articles]
flying boat: (from the article "airport") Much long-distance air transport was handled by the large seaplanes known as flying boats or clippers. These aircraft, though slow and of limited range, offered a level of comfort that ...
Flying Burrito Brothers, the: American popular musical group of the late 1960s and '70s that was one of the chief influences on the development of country rock. The original members were Chris Hillman (b. ...
flying buttress: (from the article "Gothic art") ...outward thrust of the ribbed ceiling vaults was carried across the outside walls of the nave, first to an attached outer buttress and then to a freestanding pier by means ...
Flying Cranes, The: (from the article "circus") ...act, the Koch sisters, performed on a giant semaphore arm that revolved slowly as they balanced on the outside edge. In the late 20th century one of the most renowned ...
flying doctor service: method for supplying medical service by airplane to areas where doctors are few and communications difficult. The plan for the first service of this type was conceived in 1912 by ...
Flying Dutchman: in European maritime legend, spectre ship doomed to sail forever; its appearance to seamen is believed to signal imminent disaster. In the most common version, the captain, Vanderdecken, gambles his ...
flying fish: any of about 40 species of oceanic fishes of the family Exocoetidae (order Atheriniformes), found worldwide in warm waters and noted for their ability to fly. They are all small, ... [3 Related Articles]
Flying Fish Cove: (from the article "Christmas Island") ...of an oceanic mountain. The highest point on the island is Murray Hill, rising to 1,184 feet (361 m) above sea level in the western part of the island. The ...
flying fox: any of about 65 bat species found on tropical islands from Madagascar to Australia and Indonesia and mainland Asia. They are the largest bats; some attain a wingspan of 1.5 ... [4 Related Articles]
flying frog: (from the article "frog") ...on land, in burrows, or in trees. A number depart from the typical form. Sedge frogs (Hyperolius), for example, are climbing African frogs with adhesive toe disks. ...
flying gurnard: any of a small group of marine fish comprising the family Dactylopteridae (or Cephalacanthidae) and the order Dactylopteriformes (sometimes placed in Scorpaeniformes). Flying gurnards are similar to the sea robins, ... [1 Related Articles]
flying jib boom: (from the article "jib") ...close-hauled sailing and of setting extra sail with comparatively little labour demand. In some ships the number of jibs reached five or more, and often the jibboom itself required an ...
flying lemur: either of the two species of primitive gliding mammals found only in Southeast Asia and on some of the Philippine Islands. Flying lemurs resemble large flying squirrels, as they are ... [2 Related Articles]
flying machine: (from the article "theatre") The permanent facade was also used to hide the stage properties and the machinery. Evidence for the use of the so-called flying machine, the mechane (Latin machina), in the 5th ...
flying shuttle: (from the article "mass production") ...reduce production costs by specialized labour and the use of machines appeared in the 18th century in England. They were signaled by five important inventions in the textile industry: (1) ...