Science terms starting with C

1,236 terms

"Controlled low strength material (CLSM) Also known as flowable fill or cement-slurry backfill, a mixture of pozzolan, Portland cement, water, coarse aggregate, and occasionally soil, typically…
C Abbreviation for cytosine.
C AMS Continental Air Mass
C unit (CCF) One hundred cubic feet of solid wood. Used as a log measure or as a measure of solid wood content. 1 CCF contains typically 1.4 BDT.
c, speed of light The speed that light travels in a vacuum. It is about 3 x 108 m/s (186,000 miles/s).
CA Cloud-to-Air lightning.
CAA Cold Air Advection
CAAT box A conserved DNA sequence found within the promoter region of the protein -encoding genes of many eukaryotic organisms.
cabinet See: growth cabinet.
Cable yarding A term used to describe a means of removing logs from the stump area to a landing or yarding area through use of an overhead system of winch-driven cables…
CAD Coronary artery disease. A disease in which there is a narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries (blood vessels that carry blood and oxygen to the…
CADAS Centralized Automated Data Acquisition System - a system of two minicomputers in NWSH.
Cadastral survey system A survey that creates, marks, defines, retraces, or re-establishes the boundaries and subdivisions of the public land of the United States.
Cadmium (Cd) A chemical element used in making certain types of solar cells and batteries.
Cadmium telluride (CdTe) A polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic material.
Cage Where the casino cashier is located.
Cairn A mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker.
Caisson A box or chamber used in construction work under water. A structure or chamber which is usually sunk or lowered by digging from the inside.
Calcareous Of, containing, or like calcite (calcium carbonate).
Calcite Light-colored mineral composed of calcium carbonate that often fills veins in igneous rocks and forms the sedimentary rock limestone.
calcium carbonate (CaCO<sub>3</sub>) A molecule consisting of calcium, carbon and oxygen that is secreted by corals, mollusks (clams, oysters, etc), foraminifera and other organisms to form a…
Caldera A large, usually circular depression at the summit of a volcano, formed when magma is erupted from a shallow underground magma reservoir.
Caldera (crater) Large circular depression formed by explosion or collapse of a volcano.
Calibration the set of operations which establish, under specified conditions, the relationship between values indicated by a measuring instrument or measuring…
Caliche A sedimentary deposit, commonly made of calcium carbonate, and formed from the leaching of minerals from the top layers of soil.
California Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) A legal limit that specifies the maximum level and time of exposure in the outdoor air for a given air pollutant and which is protective of human health…
callipyge An inherited trait in livestock (e.g. sheep) that results in thicker, meatier hind-quarters, and hence a higher meat yield per animal.
callus (pl.: calli) A protective tissue, consisting of parenchyma cells, that develops over a cut or damaged plant surface. 2.
callus culture A technique of plant tissue culture, usually on solidified medium and initiated by inoculation of small explants .
CALM A weather condition when no air motion (wind) is detected.
Calorie (KA-luh-ree) A measurement of the energy content of food. The body needs calories as to perform its functions, such as breathing, circulating the blood…
Calorific Value The heat liberated by the combustion of a unit quantity of a fuel under specific conditions; measured in calories.
calving separating or breaking so that a part becomes detached, as in icebergs separating from ice sheets.
Camber The amount a tire is tilted in or out from vertical. Described in degrees, either positive or negative.
cambial zone Region in stems and roots consisting of the cambium and its recent derivatives.
cambium (pl.: cambia) A one or two cells thick layer of plant meristematic tissue, between the xylem and phloem tissues, which gives rise to secondary tissues…
cAMP Abbreviation for cyclic adenosine monophosphate.
CaMV Abbreviation for cauliflower mosaic virus.
CaMV 35S Abbreviation for cauliflower mosaic virus 35S ribosomal. See: cauliflower mosaic virus.
Canal A channel, usually open, that conveys water by gravity to farms, municipalities, etc.
Canal headworks The beginning of a canal.
Canal prism The shape of the canal as seen in cross section.
Cancer (KAN-ser) A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread to other parts of the…
Candela The luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 × 1012 hertz and that has a radiant…
candidate gene A gene whose deduced function (on the basis of DNA sequence) suggests that it may be involved in the genetic control of an aspect of phenotype.
Candidate species See threatened, endangered and sensitive species.
candidate-gene strategy An experimental approach in which knowledge of the biochemistry and/or physiology of a trait is used to identify candidate gene s.
Candle Power The illuminating power of a standard candle employed as a unit for determining the illuminating quality of an illuminant.
canola A specific subgroup of oilseed rape cultivars; canola oil is the highly mono-unsaturated fatty acid and low in erucic acid product produced in the seed of…
Canyon Wind A foehn wind that is channeled through a canyon as it descends the lee side of a mountain barrier.
Cap A cap is a ceiling, or the highest level to which something can go. For example, an interest rate cap limits the amount by which an interest rate can be…
Cap Cloud A stationary cloud directly above an isolated mountain peak, with cloud base below the elevation of the peak.
cap site The site on a DNA template where transcription begins. It corresponds to the nucleotide at the 5' end of the RNA transcript which accepts the G cap.
Capability The maximum load that a generating unit, power plant, or other electrical apparatus can carry under specified conditions for a given period of time…
Capability Margin The difference between net electrical system capability and system maximum load requirements (peak load); the margin of capability available to provide…
Capable fault An active fault that is judged capable of producing macro-earthquakes and exhibits one or more of the following characteristics: (1) Movement at or near…
Capacitance A measure of the electrical charge of a capacitor consisting of two plates separated by an insulating material.
capacitation The final stage, inside the female genital tract, in the maturation process of a spermatozoon, as it penetrates the ovum.
Capacitor An electrical device that adjusts the leading current of an applied alternating current to balance the lag of the circuit to provide a high power factor.
Capacity Your ability to make your mortgage payments on time. This depends on your income and income stability (job history and security), your assets and savings…
Capacity (Condensing Unit) The refrigerating effect in Btu/h produced by the difference in total enthalpy between a refrigerant liquid leaving the unit and the total enthalpy of the…
Capacity (Effective, of a motor) The maximum load that a motor is capable of supplying.
Capacity (Heating, of a material) The amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of a given mass of a substance by one degree Celsius.
Capacity factor The ratio of the average load on (or power output of) a generating unit or system to the capacity rating of the unit or system over a specified period of…
Capacity margin The amount of capacity above planned peak system demand available to provide for scheduled maintenance, emergency outages, system operating requirements…
Capacity markets A market for the trading of capacity credits (the ability to produce electricity in the market area during a defined period) usually between parties…
CAPE Convective Available Potential Energy. A measure of the amount of energy available for convection.
Capillarity (1) The degree to which a material or object containing minute openings or passages, when immersed in a liquid, will draw the surface of the liquid above…
Capillary action (capillarity) The rise or movement of water in the interstices of a soil or rock due to capillary forces.
Capillary array Gel-filled silica capillaries used to separate fragments for DNA sequencing. The small diameter of the capillaries permit the application of higher…
Capillary attraction (capillary force) The tendency of water to move into fine spaces, as between soil particles, regardless of gravity.
capillary electrophoresis A form of electrophoresis used widely in current large-scale DNA sequencing facilities, where the sample is passed through a long, very-narrow-bore tube…
Capillary forces The molecular forces which cause the movement of water through very small spaces.
Capillary Fringe The soil area just above the water table where water can rise up slightly through the cohesive force of capillary action.
Capillary fringe zone The zone above the free water elevation in which water is held by capillary action.
Capillary head The potential, expressed in head of water, that causes the water to flow by capillary action.
Capillary migration (capillary flow) The movement of water by capillary action.
Capillary movement Movement of underground water in response to capillary attraction. See capillary action.
Capillary Potential The work required to move a unit mass of water from the reference plane to any point in the soil column.
Capillary rise The height above a free water elevation to which water will rise by capillary action.
Capillary water Underground water held above the water table by capillary attraction. Water subject to the influence of capillary action.
Capillary Waves Waves caused by the initial wind stress on the water surface causes what are known as capillary waves. These have a wavelength of less than 1.
Capillary Zone The soil area just above the water table where water can rise up slightly through the cohesive force of capillary action.
Capital cost The total investment needed to complete a project and bring it to a commercially operable status. The cost of construction of a new plant.
Capital Costs The amount of money needed to purchase equipment, buildings, tools, and other manufactured goods that can be used in production.
Capital investment A general term used to identify any money amount which is to be considered as an investment as opposed to an annual expense.
Capping A region of negative buoyancy below an existing level of free convection (LFC) where energy must be supplied to the parcel to maintain its ascent.
Capping Inversion Alternate term for Cap; a layer of relatively warm air aloft, usually several thousand feet above the ground, which suppresses or delays the development…
CAPS See: cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence.
Capsid See Coat protein.
capsule (KAP-sool) In medicine, a sac of tissue and blood vessels that surrounds an organ, joint, or tumor.
carbohydrate A sugar molecule. Carbohydrates can be small and simple (for example, glucose) or they can be large and complex (for example, polysaccharides such as…
Carbon black An amorphous form of carbon, produced commercially by thermal or oxidative decomposition of hydrocarbons and used principally in rubber goods, pigments…
Carbon Cycle All parts (reservoirs) and fluxes of carbon. The cycle is usually thought of as four main reservoirs of carbon interconnected by pathways of exchange.
Carbon Dioxide (KAR-bun dy-OK-side) A colorless, odorless gas. It is a waste product made by the body.
Carbon Dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) A product of combustion. The most common greenhouse gas.
carbon dioxide concentration The amount of carbon dioxide, a heavy, colorless greenhouse gas, per unit of volume.
Carbon Dioxide Equivalent A metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential (GWP).
Carbon Dioxide Fertilization The enhancement of the growth of plants as a result of increased atmospheric CO2 concentration.
carbon dioxide flux The rate of flow for carbon dioxide, a heavy, colorless greenhouse gas.