space permeability
The ratio of magnetic induction to magnetizing force in a vacuum
Entries starting with S
965 entries.
space probe
A robotic space vehicle designed to voyage beyond Earth's orbit.
space rule
A fine, thin, short metal rule of the same height as the type, used in printing short lines in tabular matter.
space suppression
The suppression of the normal advancement of paper in a printer after printing a line of text.
space-based
adjectiveAviation maintenance
Based in (or beginning from) space (especially in orbit, but sometimes on a planet or moon).
spacecraft
A vehicle that travels through space.
spaceship
A manned vehicle that flies through space.
spacistor
A kind of transistor developed in the 1950s.
spad
A nail one or two inches long, of iron, brass, tin, or tinner iron, with a hole through the flattened head, used to mark stations in underground surveying.
spade
A device for terminating an electrical conductor resembling a small spade.
spaghetti
Something physically resembling spaghetti (noun 1 sense 1) in appearance or consistency, or in being tangled.
spake
A type of wagon on rails used for carrying workers in and out of a colliery.
spale
nounManufacturing
One of a number of crossbands fastened temporarily to the frames to keep them in place until properly secured.
spalting
nounWoodworking
Any coloration of wood, either living or dead, by fungi, which is considered visually or texturally appealing. Biochemical responses by the tree are not included within the scope of spalting.
span
nounConstruction
The length of a cable, wire, rope, chain between two consecutive supports.
spandrel
nounConstruction
soffit (usually used to describe metal or corrugated plastic types of roof soffit)
spanish
To subject to spanishing, a printing process in which an ink is deposited on the bottoms and sides of depressions formed in a plastic material
spanishing
A printing process in which an ink is deposited on the bottoms and sides of depressions formed in a material, usually plastic
spark test
verbMetalworking
To test for the general character of a steel, when testing a piece of steel, by grinding it, producing sparks, and using the color of the sparks to determine its general classification.
Sparrow criterion
A resolution limit used to determine the moment when two point sources of equal intensity can be considered resolved.
Sparrow's resolution limit
An estimate of the angular resolution limit of an optical instrument.
spat
nounAutomotive
A piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tyres of a car.
spavin
The stratum of earth underneath a coal deposit.
spawn
The buds or branches produced from underground stems.
SPD
Initialism of surge protective device (surge protector).
SPE
Initialism of solar particle event.
speaking
Indication that the person requested is the same as the one who is currently speaking.
specialty crop
Any of various crops cultivated for, or managed and gathered for, human use (in food, personal hygiene, medicine, or decoration) rather than as animal feed, fodder, or forage.
spectacle
nounRail equipment
A frame with different coloured lenses on a semaphore signal through which light from a lamp shines at night, often a part of the signal arm.
spectral gating
A signal processing technique used primarily for noise reduction and creative sound design; converting a signal into the frequency domain (a spectrogram), estimating a noise threshold for each frequency band, and then gating" (muting or reducing the volume of) any signal below that threshold.
spectropolarimeter
A device for measuring the optical properties of polarized light.
spectrum
A set of frequencies that are used for radio-frequency communication; not necessarily a continuous range.
speedball
An improvised adhoc airdrop resupply pack, composed of ammo, food and water, and other supplies, stuffed into a body bag or duffle bag.
speeder
nounRail equipment
A motorized railroad track crew cart.
spelk
Unusably short lengths of fibre-reinforced material, such as prepreg.
spend
To break ground; to continue working.
spezzato
nounManufacturing
An outfit that combines a suit jacket of one color or style and pants of another.
spherical aberration
A type of lens aberration which causes blurriness, particularly away from the centre of the lens.
spherize
verbManufacturing
To form or force into a spherical shape.
spherocylindrical
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Having one spheric and one cylindric surface.
spheroidize
verbMetallurgy
To heat (carbon steel) to form spheroidite.
spherometer
A device used to measure the curvature of a surface, such as a lens.
SPI
Initialism of Serial Peripheral Interface.
spicatum
nounManufacturing
Ellipsis of opus spicatum.
spiker
nounRail equipment
An engineer employed to drive in the nails that fasten the rails.
spill
One of the thick laths or poles driven horizontally ahead of the main timbering in advancing a level in loose ground.
spim
Unsolicited messages sent to cellular phones.
spin
An abnormal condition in journal bearings where the bearing seizes to the rotating shaft and rotates inside the journal, destroying both the shaft and the journal.
spin magnetic moment
The part of the magnetic moment of an object that originates from its spin, rather than its movement, in which the magnetic field is generated when an electron rotates on its axis.
spin out
verbAutomotive
To cause one's vehicle to rotate about the yaw axis while skidding, such that the vehicle's longitudinal axis is no longer aligned with its direction of linear motion; or to experience such behavior from one's vehicle.
spinifex
adjectiveMining and extraction
Composed of dendritic plates, which present as the scored texture of bundled, spine-like structures typical of komatiites.
spinner knob
nounAutomotive
Ellipsis of steering wheel spinner knob.
spinout
nounAutomotive
A skid that results in a vehicle rotating such that its longitudinal axis is no longer aligned with its direction of linear motion.
spiral
nounRail equipment
A section of track that forms a circle and crosses over itself, used for gaining height in mountainous territory.
spire
A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the charge in blasting.
spirit duplicator
An early document copier using alcohol-based solvents.
spirit master
A two-ply sheet used in a spirit duplicator, in which the top sheet could be typed, drawn, or written upon, and the second sheet was coated with a layer of colored wax.
splay
A widening of a minor road where it forms a junction with a major road to ensure that the view of traffic on the major road by drivers on the minor road is not obstructed.
splice
The electrical and mechanical connection between two pieces of wire or cable.
splice grafting
A method of grafting by cutting the ends of the scion and stock completely across and obliquely, in such a manner that the sections are of the same shape, then lapping the ends so that the one cut surface exactly fits the other, and securing them by tying or otherwise.