Science terms starting with I

520 terms

  1. Industrial waste Materials discarded from industrial operations or derived from manufacturing processes.
  2. Industrial waste dam An embankment dam, usually built in stages, to create storage for the disposal of waste products from an industrial process.
  3. inembryonation See: artificial inembryonation.
  4. Inert Gas A gas that does not react with other substances; e.g. argon or krypton; sealed between two sheets of glazing to decrease the U-value (increase the…
  5. Infection Invasion and multiplication of germs in the body. Infections can occur in any part of the body and can spread throughout the body.
  6. infectious agent Synonym of pathogen.
  7. Infill Development Infill projects use vacant or underutilized land in previously developed areas for buildings, parking, and other uses.
  8. infiltrate The entry of liquid into pores or other spaces.
  9. Infiltration Leakage of ground water into a sewage collection system.
  10. Infiltration Capacity The maximum rate at which water can enter the soil at a particular point under a given set of conditions.
  11. Infiltration Capacity Curve A graph showing the time-variation of infiltration capacity. A standard infiltration capacity curve shows the time-variation of the infiltration rate…
  12. Infiltration gallery A horizontal conduit for intercepting and collecting ground water by gravity flow.
  13. Infiltration Index An average rate of infiltration, in inches per hour, equal to the average rate of rainfall such as that the volume of rainfall at greater rates equals the…
  14. Infiltration pond A shallow impoundment designed to infiltrate stormwater into the soil. Also referred to as an infiltration basin.
  15. Infiltration Rate The rate of water entry into the soil expressed as a depth of water per unit of time in inches per hour or feet per day.
  16. Inflation A condition of increasing prices. Inflation is generally measured by the Consumer Price Index.
  17. inflorescence The flowers of a plant, and the way those flowers are arranged.
  18. Inflow Water (and pollutants) that enter sewage systems through street inlets, roof drains, and similar sources.
  19. Inflow Bands Bands of low clouds, arranged parallel to the low-level winds and moving into or toward a thunderstorm.
  20. Inflow design flood (IDF) The flood used to design and/or modify a specific dam and its appurtenant works; particularly for sizing the spillway and outlet works, and for…
  21. Inflow Jets Local jets of air near the ground flowing inward toward the base of a tornado.
  22. Inflow Notch A radar signature characterized by an indentation in the reflectivity pattern on the inflow side of the storm.
  23. Inflow Stinger A beaver tail cloud with a stinger-like shape.
  24. Influent Wastewater going into the sewage treatment plant.
  25. Influent Seepage Movement of gravity water in the zone of aeration from the ground surface toward the water table.
  26. Influent Stream Any watercourse in which all, or a portion of the surface water flows back into the ground namely the, vadose zone, or zone of aeration.
  27. Informatics See: bioinformatics
  28. Informed consent A process in which a person is given important facts about a medical procedure or treatment, a clinical trial, or genetic testing before deciding whether…
  29. Infrared The range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 700 nm, just longer than red in the visible spectrum, to 1 mm, on the border of the microwave…
  30. Infrared (IR) Radiation Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light, but shorter than microwaves.
  31. infrared brightness temperature (°C) The downwelling atmospheric emission in the 9.9 to 11.4 micrometers band; in general, relatively warmer temperatures imply "thicker" clouds.
  32. Infrared Radiation Electromagnetic radiation whose wavelengths lie in the range from 0.75 micrometer to 1000 micrometers; invisible long wavelength radiation (heat) capable…
  33. Infrared Satellite Imagery This satellite imagery senses surface and cloud top temperatures by measuring the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation emitted from these objects.
  34. infrastructure An basic underlying framework or features of a system.
  35. Infrastructure Management Board (IMB) ACRF management team that manages the overall budget, planning, user request screening, activity implementation, and impact assessments for the ARM…
  36. ingestion Taking into the body by mouth.
  37. inhalation In medicine, refers to the act of taking a substance into the body by breathing.
  38. Inherit In genetics, to receive genetic material from parents through biological processes.
  39. inheritance The transmission of genes and phenotypes from generation to generation.
  40. inherited (in-HAYR-it-ed) Transmitted through genes that have been passed from parents to their offspring (children).
  41. inhibitor 1. Any substance or object that retards a chemical reaction. 2. A metabolite or modifier gene that interferes with a reaction or with the expression of…
  42. Inhomogeneity Something not evenly distributed in space; a clump or cluster.
  43. Inhuman Entity A supernatural being -- such as a demon or jinn -- that did not begin its existence in human form.
  44. Initial Being first, before anything else occurs.
  45. Initial Conditions The nature of a system's state when time equals zero.
  46. Initial Detention The volume of water on the ground, either in depressions or in transit, at the time active runoff begins.
  47. Initial Loss In hydrology, rainfall preceding the beginning of surface runoff. It includes interception, surface wetting, evaporation and infiltration unless otherwise…
  48. Initial Moisture Deficiency The quantity, usually expressed in depth of water in inches upon a unit area, by which the actual water content of a given soil zone (usually the root…
  49. Initial responders (first responders) Individuals who are likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release and who have been trained to initiate an emergency response sequence by…
  50. Initial SEED examination The first formal onsite examination. See evaluation report and SEED examination.
  51. Initial Water Deficiency The quantity, usually expressed in depth of water in inches upon a unit area, by which the actual water content of a given soil zone (usually the root…
  52. initiation Causing something to start. 1. Early steps or stages of a tissue culture process. 2. Early stages of biosynthesis.
  53. Initiation codon The mRNA sequence AUG, coding for methionine, which initiates translation of mRNA.
  54. initiation factor Soluble protein required for the initiation of translation.
  55. Injection season The period from April 1 through October 31, during which gas is injected into natural gas storage reservoirs in preparation for withdrawal and use during…
  56. Inland freshwater wetlands Swamps, marshes, and bogs found inland beyond the coastal saltwater wetlands.
  57. Inland Hurricane Warning Issued for interior counties that sustained winds of 74 mph or greater associated with a hurricane are expected within 24 hours.
  58. Inland Hurricane Watch Issued for interior counties when sustained winds of 74 mph or greater associated with a hurricane are possible within 36 hours.
  59. Inland Tropical Storm Warning Issued for interior counties when sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph associated with a tropical storm are expected within 24 hours.
  60. Inland Tropical Storm Watch Issued for interior counties when sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph associated with a tropical storm are possible within 36 hours.
  61. INLD Inland
  62. Inlet channel (inlet structure) Concrete lined portion of spillway between approach channel and gate or crest structure.
  63. Inlet structure. See inlet channel.
  64. Inner cell mass A cluster of cells in the blastocyst from which embryonic stem cell lines can be isolated and grown in culture.
  65. Inner cell mass (ICM) The cluster of cells inside the blastocyst. These cells give rise to the embryo and ultimately the fetus.
  66. inoculate Deliberately introduce, in contrast to contamination. 1. In bacteriology, tissue culture, etc.
  67. inoculation cabinet Small room or cabinet for inoculation (of tissue or micro-organism cultures) operations, often with a current of sterile air to carry contaminants away…
  68. inoculum (pl.: inocula) 1. A small piece of tissue cut from callus, or an explant from a tissue or organ, or a small amount of cell material from a suspension…
  69. Inorganic Substances that are of mineral origin. See organic.
  70. inorganic chemical composition The chemical composition of an aerosol, with the exception of those with hydrocarbons, and usually including carbides, oxides of carbon, metallic…
  71. Inorganic compound Historically, chemicals that could not be derived from living processes. In modern usage, chemicals that do not contain carbon, although carbonates and a…
  72. Inorganic compounds Those compounds lacking carbon but including carbonates and cyanides. Compounds not having the organized anatomical structure of animal or vegetable life.
  73. Inorganic fertilizer See synthetic fertilizer.
  74. inositol (ih-NAH-sih-TOL) A type of sugar that has a different chemical structure than glucose (the chief source of energy for living organisms).
  75. Inositol lipid A membrane-anchored phospholipid that transduces hormonal signals by stimulating the release of any of several chemical messengers. (See Phospholipid.)
  76. insecticide A substance that kills insects.
  77. insert 1. To incorporate a DNA molecule into a cloning vector; also used as a noun to describe such a DNA molecule. 2.
  78. Insertion A type of chromosomal abnormality in which a DNA sequence is inserted into a gene, disrupting the normal structure and function of that gene.
  79. insertion element Generic term for DNA sequences found in bacteria capable of genome insertion. Postulated to be responsible for site-specific phage and plasmid integration.
  80. insertion mutation Changes in the base sequence of a DNA molecule resulting from the random integration of DNA from another source. See: mutation.
  81. Insertion mutations Changes in the base sequence of a DNA molecule resulting from the random integration of DNA from another source. See DNA, Mutation.
  82. insertion sequence See: insertion element.
  83. insertion site 1. A unique restriction site in a molecule into which foreign DNA can readily be inserted.
  84. Insertional mutation See: insertion
  85. Inset fans An alluvial fan that occurs on top of an older alluvial fan.
  86. Insolation The solar power density incident on a surface of stated area and orientation, usually expressed as Watts per square meter or Btu per square foot per hour.
  87. Instability A lack of consistent phenotype, usually as a result of uncontrolled genetic changes.
  88. Installed capacity The total capacity of electrical generation devices in a power station or system.
  89. Instantaneous Efficiency (of a Solar Collector) The amount of energy absorbed (or converted) by a solar collector (or photovoltaic cell or module) over a 15 minute period.
  90. instantaneous radiative flux (IRF) An approach that involves collecting data on the distribution of radiation and the radiatively active constituents of the atmosphere and radiative…
  91. Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph The theoretical, ideal, unit hydrograph that has a infinitesimal duration.
  92. INSTBY Instability- The tendency for air parcels to accelerate when they are displaced from their original position; especially, the tendency to accelerate…
  93. Institutionalized populations People in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, federal buildings, or other facilities that require special care or consideration during emergencies…
  94. Instream flow requirements Amount of water flowing through a defined stream channel needed to sustain instream values, e.g. flows designated for fish and wildlife.
  95. Instream use The use of water that does not require withdrawal or diversion from its natural watercourse; for example, the use of water for navigation, recreation, and…
  96. Instream uses Water uses that can be carried out without removing the water from its source, as in navigation and recreation.
  97. instrument data processing circuit Data processing module that transforms data from the instrument output format into a designed data structure in netCDF format.
  98. Instrument Flight Rules Refers to the general weather conditions pilots can expect at the surface and applies to the weather situations at an airport during which a pilot must…
  99. instrument mentor The technical point of contact for ACRF instrument systems. Mentors are the presumed experts on the instrument and the data it provides.
  100. Instrument Shelter A boxlike structure designed to protect temperature measuring instruments from exposure to direct sunshine, precipitation, and condensation, while at the…