Science terms starting with C

1,236 terms

Charge Carrier A free and mobile conduction electron or hole in a semiconductor.
Charge Controller An electronic device that regulates the electrical charge stored in batteries so that unsafe, overcharge conditions for the batteries are avoided.
Charles' law With constant pressure, the temperature of an ideal gas is inversely proportional to the density of the gas.
Charrette A Charrette is a planning session in which participants brainstorm and visualize solutions to a design issue.
CHC Chance
Check dam A small dam designed to retard the flow of water and sediment in a channel, used especially to control soil erosion.
Check structure A structure used to regulate the upstream water surface and control the downstream flow in a canal.
Check valve Any device which will allow fluid or air to pass through it in only one direction.
Checked signature Checked signatures verify that all probability estimates, inputs and outputs and their distributions, were entered correctly into event trees, and that…
chelate A cation bound to an organic molecule through electron pair donation from nitrogen and/or oxygen atoms in its structure.
Chemical Energy The energy liberated in a chemical reaction, as in the combustion of fuels.
chemical mutagen A chemical capable of inducing mutations in living organisms.
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) The amount of dissolved oxygen required to combine with chemicals in wastewater.
Chemical reaction Interaction between chemicals in which there is a change in the chemical composition of the elements or compounds involved.
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) A method of depositing thin semiconductor films used to make certain types of solar photovoltaic devices.
chemically-defined medium When all of the chemical components of a culture medium are fully known and defined.
chemiluminescence The emission of light during the course of a chemical reaction.
Chemistry Model A computer model used in air pollution investigations that simulates chemical and photochemical reactions of the pollutants during their transport and…
chemostat A continuous and open culture in which growth rate and cell density are maintained constant by a fixed rate of input of a growth-limiting nutrient.
chemotaxis The movement of a cell, or the whole or part of an organism, towards or away from an increasing concentration of a particular substance.
Chemotherapy (KEE-moh-THAYR-uh-pee) Treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells.
Chert A hard, dense, fine-grained type of sedimentary rock; a microcrystalline aggregate of silica (quartz).
CHG Change
CHGS changes
chiasma (ki-AZ-ma) An anatomy term for an X-shaped crossing (for example, of nerves or tendons).
Chiller A device for removing heat from a gas or liquid stream for air conditioning/cooling.
Chimera (or chimaera) 1. An organism whose cells are not all genotypically identical. This can occur as a result of: somatic mutation; grafting (see: graft…
Chimera (pl. chimaera) An organism that contains cells or tissues with a different genotype. These can be mutated cells of the host organism or cells from a different organism…
Chimeraplasty A method designed to create defined alterations in DNA sequence at a target locus, with potential both for gene therapy and for investigating gene…
chimeric DNA See: chimera (2).
chimeric gene An engineered gene, where a coding sequence is fused to promoter and/or other sequences derived from a different gene.
chimeric protein See: fusion protein.
chimeric selectable marker gene A gene that is constructed from parts of two or more different genes and allows the host cell to survive under conditions where it would otherwise die.
Chimney A masonry or metal stack that creates a draft to bring air to a fire and to carry the gaseous byproducts of combustion safely away.
Chimney Drain A vertical or inclined layer of pervious material in an embankment to facilitate and control drainage of the embankment fill.
Chimney Effect The tendency of heated air or gas to rise in a duct or other vertical passage, such as in a chimney, small enclosure, or building, due to its lower…
Chinook This is a region-specific term used for Foehn Winds in the lee of the Rocky Mountains in the United States; Foehn Winds are warm, dry winds that occur in…
Chinook Arch A foehn cloud formation appearing as a bank of altostratus clouds east of the Rocky Mountains, heralding the approach of a chinook.
chip See: micro-array.
Chip vans Special construction bottom dump trucks (grain trucks) or conventional tractor- trailer vans used for hauling pulp chips, mill residues, hog fuel, and…
Chipper A machine that produces wood chips by knife action.
Chipping Loosening of shallow rock by light blasting or air hammers.
CHIPS Woody material cut into short, thin wafers. Chips are used as a raw material for pulping and fiberboard or as biomass fuel.
Chironomid Group of two-winged flying insects who live their larval stage underwater and emerge to fly about as adults.
Chisel plowing Cropland preparation by a special implement (chisel) that avoids complete inversion of the soil (as occurs with conventional moldboard plowing).
chitin A type of polysaccharide (sugar molecule) that is made by some plants and animals.
chitinase An enzyme which breaks down chitin.
Chloramphenicol An antibiotic that interferes with protein synthesis.
chlorenchyma Plant tissue (leaf mesophyll and other parenchyma cells) containing chloroplasts.
Chlorination The application of chlorine to water, generally for the purpose of disinfection, but frequently for accomplishing other biological or chemical results…
Chlorofluorocarbon A family of chemicals composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine. Used principally as refrigerants and industrial cleansers.
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) A family of chemicals composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine whose principal applications are as refrigerants and industrial…
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - Manufactured substances used as coolants and computer-chip cleaners. When these products break down they destroy stratospheric ozone, creating…
chlorophyll One of the two pigments responsible for the green colour of most plants. It is an essential component of the machinery to absorb light energy for…
chloroplast Specialized plastid that contains chlorophyll. Lens-shaped and bounded by a double membrane, chloroplasts contain membranous structures (thylakoids) piled…
Chloroplast chromosome Circular DNA found in the photosynthesizing organelle (chloroplast) of plants instead of the cell nucleus where most genetic material is located.
chloroplast DNA The DNA present in the chloroplast. Although the chloroplast has a small genome, the large number of chloroplasts per cell ensures that chloroplast DNA is…
chloroplast transit peptide (Abbreviation: CTP). A transit peptide that, when fused to a protein, acts to transport that protein into plant chloroplasts.
chlorosis The appearance of yellow colour in plants, due to the failure of development or the breakdown of chlorophyll.
Choker A cable loop that is attached to a log during the yarding process.
Chondrocytes Cartilage cells.
Chorion The multilayered, outermost fetal membrane. As pregnancy progresses, part of the chorion becomes the placenta.
Chromatid Each of the two daughter strands of a duplicated chromosome joined at the centromere during mitosis and meiosis.
chromatin Substance of which eukaryotic chromosomes are composed. It consists of a complex of DNA, histone and non-histone chromosomal proteins (mainly histones)…
chromatin fibre The standard structural conformation of chromatin in strands of 30 nm average diameter.
Chromatography a method for separating mixtures based on differences in the speed at which they migrate over or through a stationary phase.
chromocentre Body produced by fusion of the heterochromatic regions of the chromosomes in the polytene tissues (e.g. the salivary glands) of certain Diptera.
chromogenic substrate A compound or substance that contains a colour-forming group.
Chromomere One of the serially aligned beads or granules of a eukaryotic chromosome, resulting from local coiling of a continuous DNA thread.
chromomeres Small dense bodies identified by their characteristic size and linear arrangement along a chromosome.
chromonema (pl.: chromonemata) An optically single thread forming an axial structure within each chromosome.
chromoplast Plastid containing pigments other than chlorophyll. See: chloroplast.
chromosomal aberration An abnormal change in chromosome structure or number, including deficiency, duplication, inversion, translocation, aneuploidy, polyploidy, or any other…
Chromosomal deletion The loss of part of a chromosome's DNA.
chromosomal integration site A chromosomal location where foreign DNA can be integrated, often without impairing any essential function in the host organism.
Chromosomal inversion Chromosome segments that have been turned 180 degrees. The gene sequence for the segment is reversed with respect to the rest of the chromosome.
chromosomal polymorphism The occurrence of one to several chromosomes in two or more alteRNA tive structural forms within a population; the structurally changed chromosomes are…
Chromosome (KROH-muh-some) Part of a cell that contains genetic information. Except for sperm and eggs, all human cells contain 46 chromosomes.
chromosome aberration See: chromosomal aberration.
chromosome banding Differential staining of chromosomes in such a way that light and dark areas occur along the length of the chromosomes in repeatable patterns.
chromosome jumping A technique that allows two segments of duplex DNA that are separated by thousands of base pairs (about 200 kb) to be cloned together.
chromosome landing An alteRNA tive to chromosome walking for positional cloning. Clones of genomic DNA are fragmented so as to include both the target gene and a closely…
chromosome mutation A change in the gross structure of a chromosome, usually causing severely deleterious effects in the organism, but can be maintained in a population (See…
Chromosome painting Attachment of certain fluorescent dyes to targeted parts of the chromosome. Used as a diagnositic for particular diseases, e.g. types of leukemia.
Chromosome region p A designation for the short arm of a chromosome.
Chromosome region q A designation for the long arm of a chromosome.
chromosome theory of inheritance The theory that chromosomes carry the genetic information and that their behaviour during meiosis provides the physical basis for segregation and…
Chromosome walking Working from a flanking DNA marker, overlapping clones are successively identified that span a chromosomal region of interest. (See Chromosome.)
Chromosomes The self-replicating genetic structure of cells containing the cellular DNA. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Chromosphere 2,500 km thick (1,600 mi) layer of plasma above the Sun’s photosphere. Temperatures range from ~4500 K to 60,000 K (110,000 to 8,000°F).
Chromospheric Events In solar-terrestrial terms, flares that are just Chromospheric Events without Centimetric Bursts or Ionospheric Effects. (SID) (Class C flare)
Chronic effects Effects resulting from exposure to low levels of a stressing factor (e.g., contaminant, disease, electromagnetic field, noise, and radionuclides) over…
chronology a general term for the age-depth relationship in ice, sediment, or another deposit.
Chute A racetrack straightaway.
chymosin An enzyme that clots milk, used in the manufacture of cheese.
CI Cirrus clouds- High-level clouds (16,000 feet or higher), composed of ice crystals and appearing in the form of white, delicate filaments or white or…
Cienega A perennially wet area supported by a spring or other water source; also called wetland, marsh, or swamp.
CIG Ceiling- The height of the lowest layer of clouds, when the sky is broken or overcast.
ciliate (adj.) See cilium.
cilium (pl.: cilia) Hairlike locomotor structure on certain cells; a locomotor structure on a ciliate protozoan.