Scrape wikipedia-science: 139 new, 1 updated, 154 total (kb-cron)

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homogeneity_and_heterogeneity-0.md

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+---
+title: "Homogeneity and heterogeneity"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homogeneity_and_heterogeneity"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T02:59:56.824054+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity of a substance, process or image. A homogeneous feature is uniform in composition or character (i.e., color, shape, size, weight, height, distribution, texture, language, income, disease, temperature, radioactivity, architectural design, etc.); one that is heterogeneous is distinctly nonuniform in at least one of these qualities.
+
+
+== Etymology and spelling ==
+
+The words homogeneous and heterogeneous come from Medieval Latin homogeneus and heterogeneus, from Ancient Greek ὁμογενής (homogenēs) and  ἑτερογενής (heterogenēs), from ὁμός (homos, "same") and ἕτερος (heteros, "other, another, different") respectively, followed by γένος (genos, "kind"); -ous is an adjectival suffix.
+Alternate spellings omitting the last -e- (and the associated pronunciations) are common, but mistaken: homogenous is strictly a biological/pathological term which has largely been replaced by homologous.  But use of homogenous to mean homogeneous has seen a rise since 2000, enough for it to now be considered an "established variant". Similarly, heterogenous is a spelling traditionally reserved to biology and pathology, referring to the property of an object in the body having its origin outside the body.
+
+
+== Scaling ==
+The concepts are the same to every level of complexity.  From atoms to galaxies, plants, animals, humans, and other living organisms all share both a common or unique set of complexities. 
+Hence, an element may be homogeneous on a larger scale, compared to being heterogeneous on a smaller scale. This is known as an effective medium approximation.
+
+
+== Examples ==
+Various disciplines understand heterogeneity, or being heterogeneous,  in different ways.
+
+
+=== Biology ===
+
+
+==== Environmental heterogeneity ====
+
+Environmental heterogeneity is a hypernym for different environmental factors that contribute to the diversity of species, like climate, topography, and land cover. Biodiversity is correlated with geodiversity on a global scale. Heterogeneity in geodiversity features and environmental variables are indicators of environmental heterogeneity. They drive biodiversity at local and regional scales. 
+Scientific literature in ecology contains a big number of different terms for environmental heterogeneity, often undefined or conflicting in their meaning. Habitat diversity and habitat heterogeneity are a synonyms of environmental heterogeneity.
+
+
+=== Chemistry ===
+
+
+==== Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures ====
+
+In chemistry, a heterogeneous mixture consists of either or both of 1) multiple states of matter or 2) hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances in one mixture; an example of the latter would be a mixture of water, octane, and silicone grease. Heterogeneous solids, liquids, and gases may be made homogeneous by melting, stirring, or by allowing time to pass for diffusion to distribute the molecules evenly. For example, adding dye to water will create a heterogeneous solution at first, but will become homogeneous over time. Entropy allows for heterogeneous substances to become homogeneous over time.
+A heterogeneous mixture is a mixture of two or more compounds. Examples are: mixtures of sand and water or sand and iron filings, a conglomerate rock, water and oil, a salad, trail mix, and concrete (not cement). A mixture can be determined to be homogeneous when everything is settled and equal, and the liquid, gas, the object is one color or the same form. Various models have been proposed to model the concentrations in different phases. The phenomena to be considered are mass rates and reaction.
+
+
+==== Homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions ====
+Homogeneous reactions are chemical reactions in which the reactants and products are in the same phase, while heterogeneous reactions have reactants in two or more phases. Reactions that take place on the surface of a catalyst of a different phase are also heterogeneous. A reaction between two gases or two miscible liquids is homogeneous. A reaction between a gas and a liquid, a gas and a solid or a liquid and a solid is heterogeneous.
+
+
+=== Geology ===
+Earth is a heterogeneous substance in many aspects; for instance, rocks (geology) are inherently heterogeneous, usually occurring at the micro-scale and mini-scale.
+
+
+=== Linguistics ===
+
+In formal semantics, homogeneity is the phenomenon in which plural expressions imply "all" when asserted but "none" when negated. For example, the English sentence "Robin read the books" means that Robin read all the books, while "Robin didn't read the books" means that she read none of them. Neither sentence can be asserted if Robin read exactly half of the books. This is a puzzle because the negative sentence does not appear to be the classical negation of the sentence. A variety of explanations have been proposed including that natural language operates on a trivalent logic.
+
+
+=== Information technology ===
+With information technology, heterogeneous computing occurs in a network comprising different types of computers, potentially with vastly differing memory sizes, processing power and even basic underlying architecture.
+
+
+=== Mathematics and statistics ===
+
+In algebra, homogeneous polynomials have the same number of factors of a given kind.
+In the study of binary relations, a homogeneous relation R is on a single set (R ⊆ X × X) while a heterogeneous relation concerns possibly distinct sets (R ⊆ X × Y,  X = Y or X ≠ Y).
+In statistical meta-analysis, study heterogeneity is when multiple studies on an effect are measuring somewhat different effects due to differences in subject population, intervention, choice of analysis, experimental design, etc.; this can cause problems in attempts to summarize the meaning of the studies.
+
+
+=== Medicine ===
+
+In medicine and genetics, a genetic or allelic heterogeneous condition is one where the same disease or condition can be caused, or contributed to, by several factors, or in genetic terms, by varying or different genes or alleles.
+In cancer research, cancer cell heterogeneity is thought to be one of the underlying reasons that make treatment of cancer difficult.
+
+
+=== Physics ===
+
+In physics, "heterogeneous" is understood to mean "having physical properties that vary within the medium".
+
+
+=== Sociology ===
+In sociology, "heterogeneous" may refer to a society or group that includes individuals of differing ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, sexes, or ages.  Diverse is the more common synonym in the context.
+
+
+=== Ecology ===
+In landscape ecology, heterogeneity refers to the different elements of a system. Heterogeneous systems support higher biodiversity and is a target for many landscape restoration efforts.
+
+
+== See also ==
+Complete spatial randomness
+Heterologous
+Epidemiology
+Spatial analysis
+Statistical hypothesis testing
+Homogeneity blockmodeling
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==
+
+The following cited pages in this book cover the meaning of "homogeneity" across disciplines: Morris, Christopher G. (1992). Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology. Gulf Professional Publishing. pp. 1039, 1040. ISBN 0-12-200400-0. Homogeneity in physics.

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_scientific_vocabulary-0.md

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+---
+title: "International scientific vocabulary"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_scientific_vocabulary"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T02:59:54.209338+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+International scientific vocabulary (ISV) is the set of scientific and specialized words that are in current use in several modern languages. Although the language of origin of ISV may or may not be certain, they are used translingually, whether in naturalized, loanword, or calque forms. 
+The name "international scientific vocabulary" was first used by Philip Gove in Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961). As noted by David Crystal, science is an especially productive field for new coinages. It is also especially predisposed to immediate translingual sharing of words owing to its very nature: scientists working in many countries and languages, reading each other's latest articles in scientific journals (via foreign language skills, translation help, or both), and eager to apply any reported advances to their own context.
+
+
+== Instances ==
+According to Webster's Third, "some ISV words (like haploid) have been created by taking a word with a rather general and simple meaning from one of the languages of antiquity, usually Latin and Greek, and conferring upon it a very specific and complicated meaning for the purposes of modern scientific discourse." An ISV word is typically a classical compound or a derivative which "gets only its raw materials, so to speak, from antiquity." Its morphology may vary across languages.
+The online version of Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (Merriam-Webster, 2002) adds that the ISV "consists of words or other linguistic forms current in two or more languages" that "differ from New Latin in being adapted to the structure of the individual languages in which they appear."  In other words, ISV terms are often made with Greek, Latin, or other combining forms, but each language pronounces the resulting neo-lexemes within its own phonemic "comfort zone", and makes morphological connections using its normal morphological system. In this respect, ISV can be viewed as heavily borrowing loanwords from Neo-Latin.
+McArthur characterizes ISV words and morphemes as "translinguistic", explaining that they operate "in many languages that serve as mediums for education, culture, science, and technology." Besides European languages, such as Russian, Swedish, English, and Spanish, ISV lexical items also function in Japanese, Malay, Philippine languages, and other Asian languages. According to McArthur, no other set of words and morphemes is so international. 
+It is not always practically relevant, to any concerns except philology and the history of science, which language any particular ISV term first appeared in, as its cognate naturalized counterparts in other languages are effectively coeval with it for most practical scientific purposes, as well as being self-evidently equivalent in surface analysis. This characteristic is corollary to the very nature of science: it is predisposed to immediate translingual sharing of words, as scientists, working in many countries and languages, are perennially reading each other's latest articles in scientific journals (via foreign language skills, translation help, or both), and eager to apply any reported advances to their own context. This theme applies even regardless of whether each instance of scientific exchange is openly collaborative (as in open science) or is driven by espionage or industrial espionage (as for example regarding weapons systems development).
+The ISV is one of the concepts behind the development and standardization of the constructed language called Interlingua. Scientific and medical terms in Interlingua are largely of Greco-Latin origin, but, like most Interlingua words, they appear in a wide range of languages. Interlingua's vocabulary is established using a group of control languages selected as they radiate words into, and absorb words from, a large number of other languages. A prototyping technique then selects the most recent common ancestor of each eligible Interlingua word or affix. The word or affix takes a contemporary form based on the control languages. This procedure is meant to give Interlingua the most generally international vocabulary possible.
+
+
+== Words and word roots that have different meanings from those in the original languages ==
+This is a list of scientific words and word roots which have different meanings from those in the original languages.
+
+
+== Words and word roots that have one meaning from Latin and another meaning from Greek ==
+This is a list of scientific words and word roots which have one meaning from Latin and another meaning from Greek.
+
+
+== Other words and word roots with two meanings ==
+This is a list of other scientific words and word roots which have two meanings.
+
+
+== Other differences ==
+Another difference between scientific terms and classical Latin and Greek is that many compounded scientific terms do not elide the inflection vowel at the end of a root before another root or prefix that starts with a vowel, e.g. gastroenteritis; but elision happens in gastrectomy (not *gastroectomy).
+The Greek word τέρας (τέρατο-) = "monster" is usually used to mean "monster (abnormal)" (e.g. teratology, teratogen), but some biological names use it to mean "monster (enormous)" (e.g. the extinct animals Teratornis (a condor with a 12-foot wingspan) and Terataspis (a trilobite 2 feet long)).
+
+
+== Haplology ==
+A feature affecting clarity in seeing a scientific word's components is haplology, i.e. removing one of two identical or similar syllables that meet at the junction point of a compound word. Examples are:
+
+appendectomy = appendix, appendicis, (Latin for "appendix") + -ectomy (ultimately from Greek τομή, "a cutting")
+Dracohors = draco, draconis, "Latin for dragon" + cohors, "cohort"
+Hapalemur = hapalo- (Greek ἁπαλός, "gentle") + lemur
+
+
+== See also ==
+Binomial nomenclature
+Classical compound
+Contemporary Latin
+English words of Greek origin
+Hybrid word
+Internationalism (linguistics)
+Latinisation of names
+Lexicography
+Language-for-specific-purposes dictionary (LSP dictionary)
+Medical dictionary
+Medical terminology
+Scientific terminology
+Scientific notation
+Systematic name
+Terminology
+Trading zones (metaphor) – Metaphor applied to collaborations in science
+
+
+=== Lists ===
+List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions
+List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English
+List of Greek and Latin roots in English
+List of Latin abbreviations
+List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
+List of Latin words with English derivatives
+List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==
+Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
+List of Latin Words with Derivatives to English
+Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998 entry on International Scientific Vocabulary

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_magazines-0.md

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+---
+title: "List of science magazines"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_magazines"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:00:03.262096+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+A science magazine is a periodical publication with news, opinions, and reports about science, generally written for a non-expert audience. In contrast, a periodical publication, usually including primary research and/or reviews, that is written by scientific experts is called a "scientific journal". Science magazines are read by non-scientists and scientists who want accessible information on fields outside their specialization.
+Articles in science magazines are sometimes republished or summarized by the general press.
+
+
+== Examples of general science magazines ==
+
+
+=== Africa ===
+
+
+=== Asia ===
+
+
+==== Bangladesh ====
+Byapon – Youth Science Magazine in Bengali
+Bigganchinta[1]
+BigganBarta (বিজ্ঞানবার্তা) – Free PDF Science Magazine in Bengali
+Bangachi (ব্যাঙাচি) – Free Science Magazine in Bengali published by Banger Chhater Biggan
+Biggan Ananda (বিজ্ঞান আনন্দ) - Published by Bangladesh Science Fiction Society (BSFS)
+Zero to Infinity (জিরো টু ইনফিনিটি)
+
+
+==== India ====
+Resonance, published by Indian Academy of Sciences
+Current Science
+Dream 2047, published by Vigyan Prasar
+Jnan o Bijnan, published by Bangiya Bijnan Parishad
+Sandarbh
+Science Reporter
+Safari
+
+
+==== Japan ====
+Newton press
+Nikkei Science
+
+
+==== Kazakhstan ====
+OYLA
+
+
+==== Pakistan ====
+Global Science
+
+
+==== South Korea ====
+Donga Science
+
+
+==== Turkey ====
+Bilim ve Teknik
+
+
+=== Europe ===
+EuroScientist
+
+
+==== Austria ====
+Universum
+
+
+==== Czechia ====
+Vesmír
+
+
+==== Denmark ====
+Aktuel Naturvidenskab
+Illustreret Videnskab
+
+
+==== Finland ====
+Tiede
+
+
+==== France ====
+La Recherche
+Pour la Science
+Science & Vie
+
+
+==== Germany ====
+Spektrum der Wissenschaft
+Welt der Physik
+Bild der Wissenschaft
+Laborjournal
+Science Notes
+DUZ
+
+
+==== Italy ====
+Popular Science Italia
+Airone
+Focus
+Le Scienze
+
+
+==== Netherlands ====
+Quest
+Zenit
+
+
+==== Poland ====
+Wiedza i Życie
+
+
+==== Russia ====
+Khimiya i Zhizn
+Nauka i Zhizn
+Tekhnika Molodezhi
+Kvant
+Vokrug sveta
+Znanie – Sila
+
+
+==== Serbia ====
+SciTech
+
+
+==== Sweden ====
+Illustrerad Vetenskap
+
+
+==== United Kingdom ====
+All About Space
+BBC Focus
+BBC Science Focus
+BBC Sky at Night
+Laboratory News
+New Scientist
+Physics World
+Scientific European
+
+
+=== North America ===
+
+
+==== United States ====
+
+
+===== General =====
+American Scientist
+Behavioral Scientist
+Discover
+MIT Technology Review
+Popular Mechanics
+Knowable Magazine
+Popular Science
+Nautilus
+New Scientist
+Quanta Magazine
+Science (1979–1986)
+Science News
+Scientific American
+Seed
+
+
+===== Astronomy/Aerospace =====
+Air & Space
+Astronomy
+Mercury
+Planetary Report
+Sky & Telescope
+Spinoff
+
+
+===== Others =====
+Physics Today
+Scientific American Mind
+The Scientist
+Skeptic
+Technologist
+Weatherwise
+
+
+=== Oceania ===
+
+
+==== Australia ====
+Australasian Science
+Australian Geographic
+Cosmos
+New Scientist
+
+
+=== South America ===
+
+
+==== Brazil ====
+Galileu
+Superinteressante
+Ciência Hoje
+Revista Pesquisa FAPESP
+
+
+==== Chile ====
+Argo Navis
+
+
+== See also ==
+
+Popular science
+Science book
+Science journalism
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_(model)-0.md

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+---
+title: "Organic (model)"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_(model)"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T02:59:59.228296+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Organic describes forms, methods and patterns found in living systems such as the organisation of cells, to populations, communities, and ecosystems. 
+Typically organic models stress the interdependence of the component parts, as well as their differentiation. Other properties of organic models include:
+
+the growth, life or development cycle
+the ability to adapt, learn, and evolve
+emergent behaviour or emergent properties
+steady change or growth, as opposed to instant change
+regulatory feedback
+composed of heterogeneous (diverse) parts
+Organic models are used especially in the design of artificial systems, and the description of social systems and constructs.
+
+
+== Uses ==
+In the social sciences, the organic model has been drawn upon for ideas such as mechanical and organic solidarity and organic unity. Carl Ritter advanced the idea of Lebensraum using the metaphor of an organic, growing state. 
+In computer science, organic networks grow in an ad hoc manner, while organic computing is autonomous and able to self-organise and heal. 
+Bionics (biomimicry) is the engineering of technology through the use of systems found in biology.
+Organic architecture stresses interrelatedness as it combines the site, buildings, furnishings, and surroundings into a unified whole, each adapted to the others. Examples include the use of passive solar and wind energy as elements of design so that the building can be easily adapted to maintain the desired levels of human comfort within the structure.
+In economics and business, organic growth refers to market growth that has happened gradually, and not through a sudden buyout or acquisition. An organic organisation is one which is flexible and has a flat structure, or one of minimal height.
+In military, organic refers to mixtures of military unit types.
+
+
+== See also ==
+Genetic algorithm
+Cybernetics
+Organic law
+Ecological Engineering
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlegmatizer-0.md

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+---
+title: "Phlegmatizer"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlegmatizer"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:00:00.397175+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+A phlegmatizer is a compound that minimizes the explosive tendency of another compound or material. The term is derived from the word phlegmatic, meaning 'not easily excited'.  Many chemical compounds that are potentially explosive have useful non-explosive applications.  One large family of phlegmatizers are phthalate esters, which are used as solvents to minimize the explosive tendency of organic peroxides, such as dibenzoyl peroxide and MEKP, which are widely used initiators for polymerizations.
+
+
+== See also ==
+Phlegmatized explosive
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photochemical_action_plots-0.md

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+---
+title: "Photochemical action plots"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photochemical_action_plots"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:00:01.563042+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Photochemical action plots are a scientific tool used to understand the effects of different wavelengths of light on photochemical reactions. The methodology involves exposing a reaction solution to the same number of photons at varying monochromatic wavelengths, monitoring the conversion or reaction yield of starting materials and/or reaction products. Such global high-resolution analysis of wavelength-dependent chemical reactivity has revealed that maxima in absorbance and reactivity often do not align. Photochemical action plots are historically connected to (biological) action spectra.
+
+
+== Historical development ==
+The study of biological responses to specific wavelengths dates back to the late 19th century. Research primarily focused on assessing photodamage from solar radiation using broad-band lamps and narrow filters. These studies quantified effects such as cell viability, production of erythema, vitamin D3 degradation, DNA changes, and skin cancer appearance. The first biological action spectrum was recorded by Engelmann, who used a prism to produce different colors of light and then illuminated cladophora in a bacteria suspension. He discovered the effects of different light wavelengths on photosynthesis, marking the first recorded action spectrum of photosynthesis.
+Critical evaluations of active wavelength regions in these studies helped identify contributing chromophores to processes such as photosynthesis. These chromophores are key for converting solar energy into chemical energy, with their absorption closely matching the rate of photosynthesis, usually determined by oxygen production or carbon fixation. This correlation led to the discovery of chlorophyll as a key chromophore in plant growth. Such studies have also been instrumental in identifying DNA as the core genetic material, key wavelengths leading to skin cancer, the transparent optical window of biological tissue, and the influence of color on circadian rhythms.
+In the late 20th century, action spectra became essential in developing optical devices for photocatalysis and photovoltaics, particularly in measuring photocurrent efficiency at various wavelengths. These studies have been vital in understanding primary contributors to photocurrent generation, leading to advancements in materials, morphologies, and device designs for improved solar energy capture and utilization.
+In photochemistry, action spectra have been mainly used in photodissociation studies. These involve a monochromatic light source, often a laser, coupled with a mass spectrometer to record wavelength-dependent ion dissociation in gaseous phases. These spectra help identify contributing chromophores in molecular systems, characterize radical generation and unstable isomers, and understand higher state electron dynamics.
+The field underwent a transformation when a team led by Barner-Kowollik and Gescheidt recorded the first modern-day photochemical action plot using a tuneable monochromatic nanosecond pulsed laser system, discovering a strong mismatch between photochemical reactivity and absorptivity and marking a critical advancement in mapping wavelength-dependent conversions in photoinduced polymerizations. Following this, numerous photochemical action plots have been recorded in various molecular and polymerization systems.
+
+
+== Experimental setup ==
+Key differences between traditional (biological) action spectra and modern photochemical action plots lie in the precision resolution of wavelengths (monochromaticity) and that an exact number of photons at each wavelength is applied coupled with the fact that covalent bond forming reactions were investigated for the first time.In the field of photochemical analysis, it is common to measure the extinction of chemicals with high precision, often at the sub-nanometer scale, using UV/Vis spectroscopy. To understand fundamental relationships between a chemical's absorbance and its photoreactivity, a detailed analysis of the reactivity at a similar level of resolution is required. Traditional methods using broadly emitting light sources or filters have inherent limitations in resolving true wavelength dependence in photoreactivity. To record an action plot, a wavelength-tuneable laser system is employed, capable of delivering a stable number of photons at each wavelength. The photoreactive reaction mixture is divided into aliquots and subjected to monochromatic light independently. The photochemical process' yield or conversion is subsequently measured using sensors like UV-Vis absorption or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) frequency changes.
+
+
+== Findings and implications ==
+A key finding of modern photochemical action plots is that the absorption spectrum of a photoreactive molecule or reaction mixture correlates poorly with photochemical reactivity as a function of wavelength in many cases. Initial studies showed a significant red-shift in photopolymerization yield compared to the absorption spectrum of the employed photoinitiators, which showed extremely low absorptivity in those regions. This mismatch between absorption spectra and photochemical action plots has by now been observed in a wide array of photoreactive systems. A prominent example is the photoinduced [2+2] cycloaddition of the stilbene derivative, styrypyrene, which exhibited an 80 nm discrepancy between the action plot and absorption spectrum. Current research focuses on understanding the reasons behind these frequently observed mismatches, with a recent theory positing that local microenvironments around the chromophore generate a distribution of molecules with access to longer lived and lower energetic excited states that are accessible at longer wavelength. For photochemical applications, the consequences of the absorptivity/reactivity mismatch are far reaching, as only photochemical action plots can reveal the most effective wavelength for a given process, moving away from the past paradigm that absorption spectra provide guidance for selecting the most effective wavelength.
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_Technology_in_the_Discovery_of_America-0.md

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+---
+title: "Science and Technology in the Discovery of America"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_Technology_in_the_Discovery_of_America"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:00:04.421128+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Science and Technology in the Discovery of America (Spanish: La ciencia y la técnica en el descubrimiento de América), is a work by the historian and mathematician Julio Rey Pastor, published in Spanish in 1945, in Buenos Aires, by the Espasa-Calpe publishing. A second, "improved and corrected" edition was published in 1945. A third and fourth edition were published in 1951 and 1970, respectively.
+
+
+== Description ==
+In this book, Rey Pastor analyzes the role of science and technology in the discovery of America, with special attention to the contributions of disciplines such as geography, cartography, nautical science and cosmography, which were decisive for the realization of transoceanic expeditions, such as that of Christopher Columbus, whom Rey Pastor considers a man of science, taking into account what was understood in his time by "man of science". The work reviews the scientific situation prior to the discovery and the evolution of latitude measurement and geographical representation techniques, highlighting how these innovations allowed the navigation challenges of the time to be faced. He insists on the enormous disproportion between the magnificent results of the discoverers and the poverty of the means at their disposal.
+The book highlights the leading role of Spanish science during the Golden Age, highlighting its advances in various fields, and offers a response to the black legend, with the aim of recognizing Spanish contributions to European scientific progress. With an approach that is both rigorous and informative, the book has been recognized for its impact on the study of science applied to navigation and geographical exploration. And the professor at the University of Seville Antonio de Castro Brzezicki says that it is a book "of delightful reading".
+According to Rey Pastor, scientific and technological knowledge, despite being rudimentary, played a fundamental role in the success of the discovery of America. The technical thinking of the time was influenced by the legacy of figures such as Fibonacci, who introduced the Indo-Arabic numeral system to Europe, and Roger Bacon, a defender of experimentation as the basis of scientific knowledge. This knowledge made discovery possible and, at the same time, promoted the development of science, highlighting the importance of technology in this historical process.
+This vision has been shared by thinkers such as Gaston Bachelard and reinforced by figures such as Alexander von Humboldt. This approach allows for a reassessment of Columbus as a curious and systematic observer of nature, as reflected in his notes. It also shows the transition from an Aristotelian qualitative science to a Renaissance science based on observation, measurement and verification, which would later be followed by scientists such as Galileo, Kepler and Newton.
+The work highlights figures such as Infante Don Henry of Portugal, who contributed to the development of geography and explorations along the African coast. Also mentioned is Martin Behaim, a German cosmographer who made the first modern globe in 1492, despite errors such as not including the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope by Bartolomeu Dias.
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==
+Pastor, Julio Rey (2016-10-23). "La Ciencia Y La Tecnica En El Descubrimiento De América : Julio Rey Pastor : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2025-05-07.

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_terminology-0.md

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+---
+title: "Scientific terminology"
+chunk: 1/3
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_terminology"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T02:59:55.500176+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Scientific terminology refers to the specialized vocabulary used by scientists and engineers in their professional fields. It encompasses words and expressions created to name newly discovered or invented concepts, materials, methods, and phenomena.
+In the early modern period, scientific terminology was predominantly Latin, resulting in naming practices that have persisted into the present.
+In science, "naming a particle [or concept] is not just convenient; it marks a leap forward in our understanding of the world". Thus, new technical terms, neologisms, often arise whenever science advances.  For example, the term nanotechnology was coined in 1974 to describe precise engineering at the atomic scale. More generally, neologisms have long been driven by technology and science: "technological advances are among the main drivers of word creation… In many cases, neologisms come about as names for new objects". Likewise, language scholars observe that "science is an especially productive field for new coinages," and scientific terms often spread immediately across languages through research publications. Over time, many such technical terms (e.g. laser, radar, DNA) enter common usage, though at first, they denote concepts known mainly within the field.
+
+== New concepts ==
+Scientists frequently introduce new names for novel concepts or discoveries.  Every time a new phenomenon, particle, material, or device is identified, researchers coin a term to describe it.  For instance, in physics new fundamental particles have been named quark, gluon, lepton, graviton, neutrino, Higgs boson, mendelevium (a chemical element), etc. – typically chosen by their discoverers, often honoring a scientist or using classical roots. (Many particle names, like muon or tau, derive from Greek letters; others like electron come from Greek words for amber.) One physics review notes that assigning a name to a newly discovered particle "marks a leap forward" in science. Similarly, interdisciplinary fields often receive portmanteau names by combining existing words. For example, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and astrophysics were coined by joining roots or terms to form a new word. These composite terms help label entire new fields of research and are usually understandable to non-experts.
+
+=== New materials ===
+Modern science continually searches for materials with novel properties, and naming them is part of that process. For example, carbon-based nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes and graphene were given new names as they were discovered. One source explains that science's focus on advanced materials leads to "an extensive search for new materials having unusual or superior properties" whose names fall into categories like new substances (e.g. nanotubes) or registered trademarks (e.g. Teflon). Such names range from systematic descriptors (glass, steel types, composites) to brand names or acronyms for proprietary materials. Over time, some material names (like transistor or laser) become so widespread that they lose their "technical" feel and enter everyday language.
+
+=== New techniques and devices ===
+New experimental methods and instruments also generate terms.  Scientists name each new technique (e.g. polymerase chain reaction, X-ray crystallography) and each new instrument (e.g. scanning tunneling microscope, SQUID detector) to reflect their function.  For instance, the scanning tunneling microscope (invented 1981) is usually referred to by its full name. Other devices, like transistor, magnetron, laser, were named at their invention and have since become common words.  In general, the names of modern devices and methods are coined to describe how they work, often using existing roots or honorifics (e.g. PET scan, MRI for magnetic resonance imaging, PCR as an acronym for polymerase chain reaction).
+
+=== Alternative meaning of common words ===
+SIESTA, SQUID and SHRIMP are acronyms distinguished from siesta, squid and shrimp by capitalization. However, there are pairs of scientific terminology and common words, which can only be distinguished by context. Representative examples come from particle physics where certain properties of particles are called flavor, color, but have no relation to conventional flavor and color. Another famous example is frustration used to describe ground state properties in condensed matter physics, and especially in magnetic systems.
+
+=== Composite words ===
+Recent scientific activity often creates interdisciplinary fields, for which new names, classified into portmanteau words or syllabic abbreviations, are often created by combining two or more words, sometimes with extra prefixes and suffixes. Examples of those – biotechnology, nanotechnology, etc. – are well known and understood, at least superficially, by most non-scientists.
+
+=== Elementary particles, quasiparticles and chemical elements ===
+Progress of particle physics, nuclear physics and atomic physics has resulted in discoveries of new elementary particles and atoms. Their names – quark, gluon, lepton, graviton, neutrino, Higgs boson, mendelevium, etc. – are traditionally given by those people who first discovered them and often include surnames of classical scientists.
+Fundamental particles are particles that are not made up by any other particles, such as a quark.
+Another group of physics terminology terms, exciton, magnon, phonon, plasmon, phason, polaron, roton etc., refers to quasiparticles – quanta of corresponding excitations (spin, heat, plasma, polarization waves), which do not exist separately and were imagined by theoretists to consistently describe properties of solids and liquids.
+Most relevant terminology can be found in the following Wikipedia articles and their links:
+
+Discoveries of the chemical elements
+Elementary particle
+Quasiparticle
+List of quasiparticles
+Subatomic particle
+(The word plasmon was well-known around the 1900s for a proprietary dried milk manufactured by the International Plasmon Company, which was added to a number of products to make Plasmon Oats, Plasmon Cocoa, and Plasmon Biscuits. Plasmon Biscuits were a popular snack used by Ernest Shackleton in his Antarctic Expedition of 1902.)

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+---
+title: "Scientific terminology"
+chunk: 2/3
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_terminology"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T02:59:55.500176+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+== Classical and non-vernacular terms and expressions ==
+In modern science and its applied fields such as technology and medicine, a knowledge of classical languages is not as rigid a prerequisite as it used to be. However, traces of their influence remain. Firstly, languages such as Greek, Latin and Arabic – either directly or via more recently derived languages such as French – have provided not only most of the technical terms used in Western science, but also a de facto vocabulary of roots, prefixes and suffixes for the construction of new terms as required. Echoes of the consequences sound in remarks such as "Television? The word is half Latin and half Greek. No good can come of it." (referring to it being a hybrid word).
+A special class of terminology that overwhelmingly is derived from classical sources, is biological classification, in which binomial nomenclature still is most often based on classical origins. The derivations are arbitrary however and can be mixed variously with modernisms, late Latin, and even fictional roots, errors and whims. However, in spite of the chaotic nature of the field, it still is helpful to the biologist to have a good vocabulary of classical roots.
+Branches of science that are based on ancient fields of study, or that were established by scientists familiar with Greek and Latin, often use terminology that is fairly correct descriptive Latin, or occasionally Greek. Descriptive human anatomy or works on biological morphology often use such terms, for example, musculus gluteus maximus simply means the "largest rump muscle", where musculus was the Latin for "little mouse" and the name applied to muscles. During the last two centuries there has been an increasing tendency to modernise the terminology. In other descriptive anatomical terms, whether in vertebrates or invertebrates, a frenum (a structure for keeping something in place) is simply the Latin for a bridle; and a foramen (a passage or perforation) also is the actual Latin word.
+
+=== Latin, its current relevance or convenience ===
+There is no definite limit to how sophisticated a level of Latin may be brought to bear in conventional scientific terminology; such convention dates back to the days when nearly all standard communications in such subjects were written in Latin as an international scientific lingua franca. That was not so long ago; from the latter days of the Roman empire, Classical Latin had become the dominant language in learned, civil, diplomatic, legal, and religious communication in many states in Europe. Even after Latin had lost its status as a vernacular, Medieval or Late Latin increasingly became the de facto lingua franca in educated circles during the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. The peak of the dominance of Latin in such contexts probably was during the Renaissance, but the language only began to lose favour for such purposes in the eighteenth century, and gradually at that. The presence of Latin terms in modern writing is largely the residue of the terminology of old documents.
+The expression of fine distinctions in academically correct Latin technical terminology may well help in conveying intended meanings more flexibly and concisely, but the significance of the language need not always be taken seriously. An inspection of any collection of references will produce a range of very variable and dubious usages, and often a great deal of obsessive dispute. In contrast, the authoritative glossary attached to the textbook on Biological Nomenclature produced by the Systematics Association displays a very dismissive attitude to the question; for example, the only relevant entries it presents on the subject of the term sensu are:
+
+sens. str.: see s.s.
+sens. lat.: see s.l.
+sensu amplo: see s.l.
+s.l., sens. lat., sensu lato : Latin, in the broad sense; i.e. of a taxon, including all its subordinate taxa and/or other taxa sometimes considered as distinct.
+s.s., sens. str., sensu stricto : Latin, in the strict sense, in the narrow sense, i.e. of a taxon, in the sense of the type of its name; or in the sense of its circumscription by its original describer; or in the sense of its nominate subordinate taxon (in the case of a taxon with 2 or more subordinate taxa); or with the exclusion of similar taxa sometimes united with it.
+Such entries suggest that the Systematics Association is not concerned with hair-splitting in the use of the Latin terms.
+In informal or non-technical English, to say "strictly speaking" for sensu stricto and "broadly speaking" and so on is valid. Even in formal writing, there is no formal requirement to use the Latin terms rather than the vernacular.
+Valid reasons for using these Latin or partly Latin expressions are not points of pretentiousness; they include:
+
+Tradition: Where the terms and their abbreviations have been used formally for generations and appear repeatedly in records and textbooks in fixed contexts, it can be cumbersome and confusing to change unexpectedly to more familiar English or other vernacular.
+Precision: Vernacular expressions that most nearly correspond to these terms in meaning, might also be understood in subtly or even crashingly misleading senses, whereas the Latin terms are used according to strict conventions that are not easy to mistake in professional circles familiar with the usages.
+Efficiency: Not only are these terms compact (even in comparison to say, broadly speaking and strictly speaking) but in the proper contexts they lend themselves to understandable abbreviation as s.s. and s.l., better than the most compact vernacular expressions. In much the same way, think of etc or &c; practically everyone knows what those mean, and uses them unthinkingly, even people who do not know that they are abbreviations for et cetera or even et caetera, or that those mean "and the rest" in Latin. Even monoglot laymen would not usually trouble to write "and so on" instead of etc.
+
+== Acronyms ==

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+---
+title: "Scientific terminology"
+chunk: 3/3
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_terminology"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T02:59:55.500176+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+A good example is the word laser, an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation", and therefore all its letters should be capitalized. However, because of frequent use, this acronym became a neologism, i.e., it has integrated into English and most other languages. Consequently, laser is commonly written in small letters. It has even produced secondary acronyms such as LASIK (Laser-ASsisted in Situ Keratomileusis). A related acronym and neologism maser (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is much less known. Nevertheless, it is commonly written in small letters. On the contrary, acronym SPASER (Surface Plasmon Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is capitalized.
+Many scientific acronyms or abbreviations reflect the artistic sense of their  creators, e.g.,
+
+AMANDA – Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array, a neutrino telescope
+BLAST – Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope
+COMICS – COoled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer
+FROG - Frequency-resolved optical gating
+MARVEL – Multi-object Apache Point Observatory Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey, a NASA-funded project to search for exoplanets
+METATOY – METAmaTerial fOr raYs – a material that changes the direction of transmitted light rays
+PLANET – Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork, a program to search for microlensing events
+SCREAM – Single Crystal Reactive Etch And Metallization, a process used in making some microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
+SHRIMP – Sensitive High-Resolution Ion MicroProbe
+SIESTA – Spanish Initiative for Electronic Simulations with Thousands of Atoms (siesta = afternoon nap in Spanish)
+SPIDER – Spectral Phase Interferometry for Direct Electric-field Reconstruction
+SQUID – Superconducting Quantum Interference Device,
+etc. (see also List of astronomy acronyms).
+
+== See also ==
+
+== References ==
+
+== External links ==
+Science Terminology – Acronyms & Abbreviations [link appears broken (2017-04-23)]
+List of Common Acronyms and Abbreviations Encountered in the CERN Environment
+Abbreviations.com – a human edited database of acronyms and abbreviations
+Acronym Finder – a human edited database of acronyms and abbreviations (over 550,000 entries)
+All Acronyms – collection of acronyms and abbreviations (more than 600,000 definitions)
+Acronym Database – a human edited database of user submitted acronyms and abbreviations
+WDISF – What Does It Stand For is a human edited database of acronyms

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnet_to_Science-0.md

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+---
+title: "Sonnet to Science"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnet_to_Science"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:00:05.618155+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+"Sonnet to Science" (originally "Sonnet — To Science") is an 1829 poem by Edgar Allan Poe, published in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems.
+
+
+== Summary ==
+Poe asks why science preys on the poet. Science is peering, destructive and interested only in cold realities. It will not allow the poet to soar in fantasy or even to sit peacefully dreaming beneath a tree.
+
+
+== Publication history ==
+In mid-November 1829, Poe agreed with the Baltimore firm Hatch and Dunning to publish his second volume of poetry, entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems. This volume was the first instance in which Poe published his verse under his own name as opposed to his first publication, Tamerlane and Other Poems, which was only attributed to “a Bostonian”.
+A later published version of this poem includes the following note, “Private reasons—some of which have reference to the sin of plagiarism, and other to the date of Tennyson’s first poems—have induced me, after some hesitation, to re-publish these, the crude compositions of my earliest boyhood. They are printed verbatim—without alteration from the original edition—the date of which is too remote to be judiciously acknowledged.”
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==
+
+An omnibus collection of Poe's poetry at Standard Ebooks
+ Sonnet — to Science public domain audiobook at LibriVox

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_numbers-0.md

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+---
+title: "Tyranny of numbers"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_numbers"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T02:59:52.543763+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+The tyranny of numbers was a problem faced in the 1960s by computer engineers.  Engineers were unable to increase the performance of their designs due to the huge number of components involved. In theory, every component needed to be wired to every other component (or at least many other components) and were typically strung and soldered by hand. In order to improve performance, more components would be needed, and it seemed that future designs would consist almost entirely of wiring.
+
+
+== History ==
+
+The first known recorded use of the term in this context was made by the Vice President of Bell Labs in an article celebrating the 10th anniversary of the invention of the transistor, for the "Proceedings of the IRE" (Institute of Radio Engineers), June 1958 [1]. Referring to the problems many designers were having, he wrote:
+
+For some time now, electronic man has known how 'in principle' to extend greatly his visual, tactile, and mental abilities through the digital transmission and processing of all kinds of information. However, all these functions suffer from what has been called 'the tyranny of numbers.' Such systems, because of their complex digital nature, require hundreds, thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands of electron devices.
+At the time, computers were typically built up from a series of "modules", each module containing the electronics needed to perform a single function. A complex circuit like an adder would generally require several modules working in concert. The modules were typically built on printed circuit boards of a standardized size, with a connector on one edge that allowed them to be plugged into the power and signaling lines of the machine, and were then wired to other modules using twisted pair or coaxial cable.
+Since each module was relatively custom,  modules were assembled and soldered by hand or with limited automation. As a result, they suffered major reliability problems. Even a single bad component or solder joint could render the entire module inoperative. Even with properly working modules, the mass of wiring connecting them together was another source of construction and reliability problems. As computers grew in complexity, and the number of modules increased, the complexity of making a machine actually work grew more and more difficult. This was the "tyranny of numbers".
+
+
+=== Motivation for the integrated circuit ===
+It was precisely this problem that Jack Kilby was thinking about while working at Texas Instruments. Theorizing that germanium could be used to make all common electronic components (transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc.), he set about building a single-slab component that combined the functionality of an entire module. Although successful in this goal, it was Robert Noyce's silicon version and the associated fabrication techniques that make the integrated circuit (IC) truly practical.
+Unlike modules, ICs were built using photoetching techniques on an assembly line, greatly reducing their cost. Although any given IC might have the same chance of working or not working as a module, they cost so little that if they didn't work you simply threw it away and tried another. In fact, early IC assembly lines had failure rates around 90% or greater, which kept their prices high. The U.S. Air Force and NASA were major purchasers of early ICs, where their small size and light weight overcame any cost issues. They demanded high reliability, and the industry's response not only provided the desired reliability but meant that the increased yield had the effect of driving down prices.
+ICs from the early 1960s were not complex enough for general computer use, but as the complexity increased through the 1960s, practically all computers switched to IC-based designs. The result was what are today referred to as the third-generation computers, which became commonplace during the early 1970s. The progeny of the integrated circuit, the microprocessor, eventually superseded the use of individual ICs as well, placing the entire collection of modules onto one chip.
+Seymour Cray was particularly well known for making complex designs work in spite of the tyranny of numbers. His attention to detail and ability to fund several attempts at a working design meant that pure engineering effort could overcome the problems they faced. Yet even Cray eventually succumbed to the problem during the CDC 8600 project, which eventually led to him leaving Control Data.
+
+
+== References ==