Science terms starting with C

1,236 terms

  1. Cryology The science of the physical aspects of snow, ice, hail, and sleet and other forms of water produced by temperatures below Zero degrees Celsius.
  2. cryopreservation The process of cooling and storing cells, tissues, or organs at very low or freezing temperatures to save them for future use.
  3. Cryopreserved embryos Embryos, generally those produced by in vitro fertilization exceeding the number that can be transferred for uterine implantation, that have been frozen.
  4. cryoprotectant Compound preventing cell damage during successive freezing and thawing processes. Cryoprotectants are agents with high water solubility and low toxicity.
  5. Cryosphere One of the interrelated components of the Earth's system, the cryosphere is frozen water in the form of snow, permanently frozen ground (permafrost)…
  6. cryptic Anything hidden. 1. Structurally heterozygous individuals that are not identifiable as they do not show abnormal meiotic chromosome pairing configurations…
  7. Cryptobiotic See Biological soil crusts
  8. Cryptogamic soil crusts A soil crust dominated by a community of algae, lichens, or mosses. See also Biological soil crusts
  9. Cryptozoology The study and pursuit of cryptids, creatures traditionally considered mythical, folkloric or previously extinct.
  10. crystal habit The size and shape of the crystals in a crystalline solid. Also known as habit.
  11. Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cell A type of photovoltaic cell made from a single crystal or a polycrystalline slice of silicon.
  12. CSDRBL Considerable
  13. CSI Conditional Symmetric Instability
  14. CSP A type of tumor found in breast or prostate tissue. It is often large and bulky and grows quickly.
  15. CST Central Standard Time
  16. CSTL coastal
  17. CTP Abbreviation for 1. cytidine 5'-triphosphate, which is required for RNA synthesis since it is a direct precursor molecule; 2. Chloroplast transit peptide.
  18. CTY city
  19. CU Cumulus clouds - Detached clouds, generally dense and with sharp outlines, showing vertical development in the form of domes, mounds, or towers.
  20. Cube Law In reference to wind energy, for any given instant, the power available in the wind is proportional to the cube of the wind velocity; when wind speed…
  21. Cubic Feet Per Second A unit expressing rates of discharge. One cubic foot per second is equal to the discharge through a rectangular cross section, 1 foot wide by 1 foot deep…
  22. Cubic feet per second (cfs or ft3/s) A unit of discharge for measurement of a flowing liguid equal to a flow of 1 cubic foot per second (448.8 gallons per minute (gpm), 7.
  23. Cubic Feet per Second (CFS) The flow rate or discharge equal to one cubic foot (of water, usually) per second. This rate is equivalent to approximately 7.48 gallons per second.
  24. Cubic Foot (of Natural Gas) A unit of volume equal to 1 cubic foot at a pressure base of 14.73 pounds standard per square inch absolute and a temperature base of 60 degrees…
  25. Cubic foot per second (cfs or ft3/s) As a rate of streamflow, a cubic foot of water passing a reference section in one second of time. A measure of a moving volume of water (1 cfs = 0.
  26. Cuesta An elongated ridge formed by gently tilting sedimentary strata. The landform has a steep slope (escarpment or cliff) where the strata are exposed on their…
  27. CUFRA Cumulus Fractus
  28. Cull Any item of production picked out for rejection because it does not meet certain specifications.
  29. Cull section A log cut from a tree that is rejected because of defects making it unsuitable for conventional forest products.
  30. Cull trees Live saw-timber and pole-timber size trees which do not contain a merchantable sawlog due to poor form, quality, or undesirable species.
  31. cultigen A cultivated plant species with no known wild progenitor.
  32. Cultivar (Abbreviation: cv). An inteRNA tionally accepted term denoting a variety of a cultivated plant.
  33. Cultural disturbance See Cultural modification
  34. Cultural Heritage The cultural resources that reflect the nation's maritime history and traditional cultural connections to the sea, as well as the uses and values they…
  35. Cultural modification Any human-caused change in the land form, water form, vegetation, or the addition of a structure which creates a visual contrast in the basic elements (e.
  36. Cultural patrimony Ancestral heritage and entitlement.
  37. Cultural Resource A tangible entity that is valued by or significantly representative of a culture, or that contains significant information about a culture.
  38. Cultural resource(s) Any building, site, district, structure, or object significant in history, architecture, archeology, culture, or science.
  39. Cultural resources Archaeological sites, structures, or features; traditional use areas; and Native American sacred sites or special use areas that provide evidence of the…
  40. Culture (KUL-chur) The beliefs, values, and behaviors that are shared within a group, such as a religious group or a nation.
  41. culture alteration A term used to indicate a persistent change in the properties of a culture's behaviour (e.g.
  42. Culture medium Any nutrient system for the cultivation of cells, bacteria or other organisms; usually a complex mixture of organic and inorganic nutrients.
  43. culture room A dedicated room for maintaining cultures, often in a controlled environment.
  44. Culvert A pipe or small bridge for drainage under a road or structure. A conduit for the free passage of surface drainage water under a highway, railroad, canal…
  45. Cumulative effects Effects on the environment resulting from actions that are individually minor but that add up to a greater total effect as they take place over a period…
  46. Cumulative impacts The impacts assessed in an environmental impact statement that could potentially result from incremental impacts of the action when added to other past…
  47. Cumuliform Descriptive of all clouds with vertical development in the form of rising mounds, domes, or towers
  48. Cumuliform Anvil A thunderstorm anvil with visual characteristics resembling cumulus-type clouds (rather than the more typical fibrous appearance associated with cirrus).
  49. Cumulonimbus A cloud belonging to a class indicative of thunderstorm conditions characterized by large, dense towers that often reach altitudes of 30,000 feet (9000…
  50. Cumulus (Abbrev. CU) - detached clouds, generally dense and with sharp outlines, showing vertical development in the form of domes, mounds, or towers.
  51. Cumulus Buildups Clouds which develop vertically due to unstable air. Characterized by their cauliflower-like or tower-like appearance of moderately large size
  52. Cumulus Congestus A large, towering cumulus cloud with great vertical development, usually with a cauliflower-like appearance, but lacking the characteristic anvil of a…
  53. cup anemometer An instrument used to monitor wind speed. Wind rotation of cups generates and electric current calibrated in wind speed.
  54. Curb stop (curb cock) A water service shutoff valve located in a water service pipe near the curb and between the water main and the building.
  55. curie A unit of radioactivity, equal to the amount of a radioactive isotope that decays at the rate of 3.7 x 1010 disintegrations per second.
  56. Curie (Ci) The basic unit used to describe the intensity of radioactivity in a sample of material.
  57. curing The elimination of a plasmid from its host cell. Many agents which interfere with DNA replication, e.g.
  58. Current A horizontal movement of water. Currents may be classified as tidal and nontidal.
  59. Current (Electrical) The flow of electrical energy (electricity) in a conductor, measured in amperes.
  60. Current (I) The movement of electrons through a conductor, measured in amperes.
  61. Current Dollars The value or purchasing power of a dollar that has not been reduced to a common basis of constant purchasing power, but instead reflects anticipated…
  62. Current Meter Device used to measure the water velocity or current in a river.
  63. Curtailable load Electricity deliveries that are subject to interruption by the grid operator.
  64. Curtain Drain A drain constructed at the upper end of the area to be drained, to intercept surface or ground water flowing toward the protected area from higher ground…
  65. Curtain grouting The process of pressure grouting deep holes under a dam or in an abutment to form a watertight barrier and effectively seal seams, fissures, fault zones…
  66. Curvature of Spacetime According to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, mass curves space and time.
  67. Curved gravity dam A gravity dam which is curved in plan.
  68. Customer Charge An amount to be paid for energy periodically by a customer without regard to demand or energy consumption.
  69. Customer Class Categories of energy consumers, as defined by consumption or demand levels, patterns, and conditions, and generally included residential, commercial…
  70. Cut To divide a deck into two parts.
  71. Cut-and-fill The process of earth grading by excavating part of a higher area and using the excavated material for fill to raise the surface of an adjacent lower area.
  72. Cut-In-Speed The lowest wind speed at which a wind turbine begins producing usable power.
  73. Cut-Out-Speed The highest wind speed at which a wind turbine stops producing power.
  74. cuticle Layer of cutin or wax, formed on the outer surface of leaves and fruits, thought to have evolved to reduce evaporative water loss.
  75. Cutoff An impervious construction by means of which water is prevented from passing through foundation material.
  76. Cutoff Low A closed upper-level low which has become completely displaced (cut off) from basic westerly current, and moves independently of that current.
  77. Cutoff Trench An excavation later to be filled with impervious material to form a cutoff. Sometimes used incorrectly to describe the cutoff itself.
  78. Cutoff trench (keyway) An excavation in the foundation of an embankment dam, usually located upstream of the dam axis or centerline crest which extends to bedrock or to an…
  79. Cutoff Wall A wall of impervious material (e.g., concrete, asphaltic concrete, timber, steel sheet piling, or impervious grout curtain) located in the foundation…
  80. Cutting A detached plant part that, with appropriate treatment, can regenerate into a complete plant.
  81. CVR Cover
  82. CWA Clean Water Act, California Waterfowl Association.
  83. CWFA County Warning and Forecast Area
  84. Cyanobacteria Blue-green algae, prokaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that generally have a blue-green tint and lack chloroplasts.
  85. cybrid A hybrid, originating from the fusion of a cytoplast (the cytoplasm without nucleus) with a whole cell derived from a different species.
  86. CYC Cyclone- A large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in…
  87. Cycle In alternating current, the current goes from zero potential or voltage to a maximum in one direction, back to zero, and then to a maximum potential or…
  88. CYCLGN Cyclogenesis - The formation or intensification of a cyclone or low-pressure storm system.
  89. cyclic adenosine monophosphate (Abbreviations: cyclic AMP, cAMP). A "messenger" molecule that regulates many intracellular reactions by transducing signals from extracellular growth…
  90. cyclic AMP Abbreviation for cyclic adenosine monophosphate.
  91. Cyclic AMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) A second messenger that regulates many intracellular reactions by transducing signals from extracellular growth factors to cellular metabolic pathways.
  92. Cyclic Storm A thunderstorm that undergoes cycles of intensification and weakening (pulses) while maintaining its individuality.
  93. Cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk protein) Protein kinase that has to be complexed with a cyclin protein in order to act; different Cdk-cyclin complexes are thought to trigger different steps in…
  94. Cycling Powerplant operation to meet the intermediated portion of the load (9 to 14 hours per day).
  95. Cycling Losses The loss of heat as the water circulates through a water heater tank and inlet and outlet pipes.
  96. cyclodextrin Cyclic oligomer of glucose.
  97. Cyclogenesis (Abbrev. CYCLGN) - The formation or intensification of a cyclone or low-pressure storm system.
  98. cycloheximide A molecule that inhibits protein synthesis in eukaryotes, but not in prokaryotes.
  99. Cyclolysis Cyclolysis Process of weakening or terminating of a cyclonic circulation in the atmosphere; the opposite of cyclogenesis.
  100. Cyclone (abbrev. CYC) - A large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere…