Science terms starting with F

623 terms

  1. Federal Seed Act See U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  2. Federal Snow Sampler A snow sampler consisting of five or more sections of sampling tubes, one which has a steel cutter on the end.
  3. Federal Tax Incentives The federal government offers financial and tax incentives to individuals and business that install renewable energy systems at their homes or offices.
  4. Federal Water Pollution Control Act (CWA) A federal regulatory law administered by the states. The act created the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
  5. Feed A component that "feeds" the signal from the optical system to the amplification electronics. Also called a "feed horn" or "horn".
  6. feedback the process by which an initial change brings about additional change that either reinforces or counteracts the initial change.
  7. feedback inhibition The process by which the accumulated end product of a biochemical pathway stops synthesis of that product.
  8. Feedback Mechanisms Factors which increase or amplify (positive feedback) or decrease (negative feedback) the rate of a process.
  9. Feeder A power line for supplying electricity within a specified area.
  10. Feeder Bands Lines or bands of low-level clouds that move (feed) into the updraft region of a thunderstorm, usually from the east through south (i.e.
  11. Feeder cell layer Cells that are utilized in co-culture to maintain pluripotent stem cells. Cells usually consist of mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
  12. Feeder layer Cells used in co-culture to maintain pluripotent stem cells. Cells usually consist of mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
  13. Feedlot Confined outdoor or indoor space used to raise hundreds to thousands of domesticated livestock. See rangeland.
  14. Feedstock A raw material that can be converted to one or more products.
  15. Feedstocks Any material converted to another form of fuel or energy product. An example is using cornstarch to produce ethanol.
  16. Feldspar Group of light-colored minerals often found as crystals in intrusive igneous rocks. The most common rock-forming mineral.
  17. Fell To cut down a tree. Cutting down trees and sawing them to manageable lengths is referred to as "felling and bucking" or "falling and bucking."
  18. Feller-buncher A self-propelled machine that cuts trees with giant shears near ground level and then stacks the trees into piles to await skidding.
  19. FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency.
  20. Fenestration The arrangement, proportioning and design of windows in a building.
  21. Feral Refers to an individual or population that has returned to the wild after a history of domestication.
  22. FERC - Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
  23. Fermentation The anaerobic breakdown of complex organic substances, especially carbohydrates, by micro-organisms, yielding energy.
  24. fermentation substrates Materials used as food for growing micro-organisms. The fermentation substrates and the trace materials needed, together with chemicals added to make the…
  25. fermenter See: bioreactor.
  26. Ferrel Cell In the general circulation of the atmosphere, the name given to the middle latitude cell marked by sinking motion near 30 degrees and rising motion near…
  27. fertile (FER-tul) Able to produce children.
  28. fertility factor See: F factor.
  29. Fertilization The union of two gametes from opposite sexes to form a zygote. Typically, each gamete contains a haploid set of chromosomes.
  30. Fertilization, Carbon Dioxide An expression (sometimes reduced to fertilization) used to denote increased plant growth due to a higher carbon dioxide concentration.
  31. Fertilizer Any substance that is added to soil in order to increase its productivity. Fertilizers can be of biological origin (e.g.
  32. Fetal calf serum A type of culture medium often used in the culture of stem cells. It provides a number of growth factors.
  33. Fetch The straight line distance across a body of water subject to wind forces. The distance which wind passes over water.
  34. Fetus (FEET-us) The developing offspring from 7 to 8 weeks after conception until birth.
  35. Feulgen staining A histochemical stain by which the distribution of DNA in the chromosomes of dividing cell nuclei can be observed.
  36. Few A National Weather Service convective precipitation descriptor for a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch).
  37. Few Clouds An official sky cover classification for aviation weather observations, descriptive of a sky cover of 1/8 to 2/8.
  38. FFG Flash Flood Guidance
  39. FG (Also abbrev. F) - Fog - water droplets suspended in the air at the Earth's surface.
  40. FIA Abbreviation for fluorescence immunoassay.
  41. Fiberglass Insulation A type of insulation, composed of small diameter pink, yellow, or white glass fibers, formed into blankets or batts, or used in loose-fill and blown-in…
  42. Fibril A microscopic to sub-microscopic cellulose thread that is part of the cellulose matrix of plant cell walls.
  43. Fibroblast A connective tissue cell that makes and secretes collagen proteins.
  44. fibroblasts Irregularly shaped, branching cells distributed throughout vertebrate connective tissue. A cell type which is readily cultured in vitro.
  45. fibrous root Root system in which both primary and lateral roots have approximately equal diameters. Opposite: tap root.
  46. field Field A region of space at each point of which a given physical or mathematical quantity has some definite value.
  47. Field (Moisture) Capacity The amount of water held in soil against the pull of gravity.
  48. field campaign A scheduled period of time, or a field campaign, when the frequency of observations is changed to augment routine data acquisition at a site or to satisfy…
  49. Field capacity (field moisture capacity) Depth of water retained in the soil after ample irrigation or heavy rain when the rate of downward movement has substantially decreased, usually one to…
  50. field gene bank See: gene bank (2).
  51. Field Moisture Deficiency The quantity of water, which would be required to restore the soil moisture to field moisture capacity.
  52. Field tile Short lengths of clay pipe that are installed as subsurface drains.
  53. FIFRA The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. See Environmental Protection Agency.
  54. Filament A prominence viewed against the solar disk. Also solar irradiance, solar filament.
  55. Filament Channel A broad pattern of fibrils in the chromosphere, marking where a filament may soon form or where a filament recently disappeared.
  56. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) A method of data transfer that can take place between Frame Relay Networks, and Workstations.
  57. filial generation See: F1, F2, Fn.
  58. Filial generation (F1, F2) Each generation of offspring in a breeding program, designated F1, F2, etc.
  59. Fill Man-made deposits of soil and rock and/or waste material.
  60. Fill Dam Any dam constructed of excavated natural materials or of industrial wastes.
  61. Fill Factor The ratio of a photovoltaic cell's actual power to its power if both current and voltage were at their maxima.
  62. Filling The opposite of deepening. A general increase in the central pressure of a low pressure system.
  63. Filter (air) A device that removes contaminants, by mechanical filtration, from the fresh air stream before the air enters the living space.
  64. Filter (Filter Zone) One or more layers of granular material which is incorporated in an embankment dam and is graded (either naturally or by selection) to allow seepage…
  65. filter bioreactor A cell culture system, in which cells are grown on a fine mesh of an inert material, which allows the culture medium to flow past it but retains the cells.
  66. Filter cake (mud cake) A deposit of mud on the walls of a drill hole.
  67. filter sterilization Process of removing microbial contaminants from a liquid by passing through a filter with pores too small to allow the passage of micro-organisms and…
  68. filtration 1. Separation of solids from liquids by using a porous material that only allows passage of the liquid or of solids smaller than the pore size of the…
  69. Fin A thin sheet of material (metal) of a heat exchanger that conducts heat to a fluid.
  70. Financial analysis Procedure that considers only tangible factors when evaluating various alternatives.
  71. Financial liquidity An entity’s ability to obtain funds to meet its cash flow obligations, with consideration for the speed with which such funds can be obtained.
  72. Financial markets Markets where financially settled products (instruments) are traded (bought and sold).
  73. Financial transaction A transaction that involves only the exchange of money, with no physical delivery.
  74. Financial transmission right A contract that entitles the holder to receive or pay compensation for transmission charges that arise when grid congestions cases price differences due…
  75. Financially settled Consummated exclusively by an exchange of funds, without the potential of exchange – or actual exchange – of commodities or other things of value.
  76. Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) A document describing the reasons why the impacts of a proposed federal action are not significant.
  77. Fine The monetary penalty assessed against a defendant.
  78. Fines Portion of a soil finer that a No. 200 U.S. Standard sieve. Clay or silt particles in soil.
  79. Finger drains A series of parallel drains of narrow width (instead of a continuous drainage blanket) draining to the downstream toe of the embankment dam.
  80. Fingerprinting See: DNA fingerprinting.
  81. Finish The visual characteristics including color, texture and reflectivity of all exterior materials.
  82. Finished DNA Sequence High-quality, low error, gap-free DNA sequence of the human genome. Achieving this ultimate 2003 HGP goal requires additional sequencing to close gaps…
  83. Finished grade The elevation or surface of the earth after all earthwork has been completed (also finish grade). The final grade required by specifications.
  84. Finite Having a set amount. A barrel of 30 apples contains only 30 apples. However the number of times one can divide a meter into two parts is infinite.
  85. Fire Classification Classifications of fires developed by the National Fire Protection Association.
  86. Fire emissions Emissions caused by wildfires, prescribed fires, agricultural fires, and structural fires.
  87. Fire Wind A thermally driven wind blowing radially inward toward a fire, produced by horizontal temperature differences between the heated air above the fire and…
  88. Fire-cracked rock Burned rocks, typically fractured during intense heating in a fire hearth or remnants of rocks associated with cooking.
  89. Fire-Rating The ability of a building construction assembly (partition, wall, floor, etc.) to resist the passage of fire. The rating is expressed in hours.
  90. Fire-tolerant species Species of plants that can withstand certain frequency and intensity of fire.
  91. Firebrand Any source of heat, natural or man made, capable of igniting wildland fuels; flaming or glowing fuel particles that can be carried naturally by wind…
  92. Fireplace A wood or gas burning appliance that is primarily used to provide ambiance to a room.
  93. Fireplace Insert A wood or gas burning heating appliance that fits into the opening or protrudes on to the hearth of a conventional fireplace.
  94. Firewall A set of related programs that protect the resources of a private network from users from other networks.
  95. Firing Rate The amount of BTUs/hour or kWs produced by a heating system from the burning of a fuel.
  96. Firm energy (power) Non-interruptible energy and power guaranteed by the supplier to be available at all times, except for uncontrollable circumstances.
  97. Firm power (firm energy) Power which is guaranteed by the supplier to be available at all times during a period covered by a commitment.
  98. Firm transportation Energy network service assuring market participants of a specified quality and quantity of service under normal operating conditions.
  99. Firm yield The maximum quantity of water that can be guaranteed with some specified degree of confidence during a specific critical period.
  100. Firn (Snow) Old snow on top of glaciers, granular and compact and not yet converted into ice. It is a transitional stage between snow and ice. Also called Neve.