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17-letter words containing a, l, o, p, t

  • optical astronomy — the branch of observational astronomy using telescopes to observe or photograph celestial objects in visible light.
  • optical carrier 3 — (networking)   (OC-3) A SONET rate of 3 * 51.84 = 155.52 megabits per second, which matches STS-3.
  • optical carrier n — (networking)   (OC-n) A SONET rate of n times 51.84 megabits per second.
  • optical computing — (hardware)   (Or "Optical Signal Processing") Operating on data represented using electromagnetic radiation, e.g. visible light, instead of the electrical signals used in a conventional electronic digital computer. Electronic digital computers are built from transistors. These form components that store data and logic gates that perform the low-level Boolean operations such as AND, OR and NOT that are the basis of all digital computation. The optical equivalent requires material with a non-linear refractive index such that light beams can interact with each other to perform the same Boolean operations. Though the photons that carry optical signals offer some theoretical advantages over the electrons that carry electronic signals, there are many practical problems that would have to be overcome before optical computing could compete in terms of cost, power and speed.
  • optical isomerism — stereoisomerism in which the isomers are identical in molecular weight and most chemical and physical properties but differ in their effect on the rotation of polarized light.
  • pair annihilation — Physics. annihilation (def 3a).
  • palace revolution — a challenge to or overthrow of a sovereign or other leader by members of the ruling family or group.
  • palaeoclimatology — the study of climates of the geological past
  • palaeoethnobotany — the study of fossil seeds and grains to further archaeological knowledge, esp of the domestication of cereals
  • paleoanthropology — the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.
  • paleobiochemistry — the study of biochemical processes that occurred in fossil life forms.
  • paleoconservative — a person advocating an older, traditional type of conservatism, especially in politics.
  • palette of narmer — a king of Egypt identified by modern scholars as the Menes of tradition and depicted as the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt on an ancient slate tablet (Narmer Palette or Palette of Narmer) c3200 b.c. with relief carvings on both sides.
  • papanicolaou test — Pap test.
  • parallel computer — parallel processor
  • parathyroid gland — any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.
  • particle velocity — the velocity of a point in a medium that is undergoing wave motion.
  • particularization — to make particular.
  • parts per million — the number of units (of a substance) present in a million units of another substance
  • pashmina politics — the adoption of political policies immediately after they have gone out of fashion
  • pastoral symphony — the Symphony No. 6 in F major (1807–08) by Ludwig van Beethoven.
  • pastoral theology — the branch of theology dealing with the responsibilities of members of the clergy to the people under their care.
  • pathological liar — a person who tells lies frequently, with no rational motive for doing so.
  • patriarchal cross — a Latin cross having a shorter crosspiece above the customary one.
  • peacock butterfly — a European nymphalid butterfly, Inachis io, having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
  • pebbleweave cloth — an irregularly textured material made from twisted yarn
  • peer of the realm — any of a class of peers in Great Britain and Ireland entitled by heredity to sit in the House of Lords.
  • penalty shoot-out — In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
  • pentachlorophenol — a white, crystalline, water-insoluble powder, C 6 Cl 5 OH, used chiefly in fungicides, disinfectants, and wood preservatives.
  • pentylenetetrazol — a white, crystalline, bitter-tasting, water-soluble powder, C 6 H 1 0 N 4 , used as a respiratory and circulatory stimulant, especially in the treatment of barbiturate poisoning, and to induce a convulsive state in the treatment of certain mental diseases.
  • personal computer — a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC.
  • personal distance — personal space.
  • personal equation — the tendency to personal bias that accounts for variation in interpretation or approach and for which allowance must be made.
  • personal property — an estate or property consisting of movable articles both corporeal, as furniture or jewelry, or incorporeal, as stocks or bonds (distinguished from real property).
  • personality clash — friction between two people who have different personalities or points of view
  • peterloo massacre — an incident at St Peter's Fields, Manchester, in 1819 in which a radical meeting was broken up by a cavalry charge, resulting in about 500 injuries and 11 deaths
  • petrol filler cap — a small cover that goes over the hole in a vehicle into which you put petrol
  • phantom limb pain — a phenomenon characterized by the experience of pain, discomfort, or other sensation in the area of a missing limb or other body part, as a breast.
  • phenethyl alcohol — a colorless, viscous, slightly water-soluble liquid, C 8 H 1 0 O, having a faint roselike odor: used chiefly in perfumery.
  • phenyl isocyanate — a liquid reagent, C 7 H 5 NO, having an unpleasant, irritating odor: used chiefly for identifying alcohols and amines.
  • philanthropically — of, pertaining to, engaged in, or characterized by philanthropy; benevolent: a philanthropic foundation.
  • phonetic alphabet — an alphabet containing a separate character for each distinguishable speech sound.
  • photofluorography — photography of images produced by a fluoroscopic examination, used in x-ray examination of the lungs of large groups of people.
  • photovoltaic cell — a photocell in which an electromotive force is generated by a photovoltaic effect.
  • phumiphon aduldet — (Phumiphon Aduldet; Bhumibol Adulyadej) born 1927, king of Thailand since 1946.
  • pile on the agony — to exaggerate one's distress for sympathy or greater effect
  • planck's constant — the fundamental constant of quantum mechanics, expressing the ratio of the energy of one quantum of radiation to the frequency of the radiation and approximately equal to 6.624 × 10− 27 erg-seconds. Symbol: h.
  • plastic explosive — a puttylike substance that contains an explosive charge, and is detonated by fuse or by remote control: used especially by terrorists and in guerrilla warfare.
  • plateau's problem — the problem in the calculus of variations of finding the surface with the least area bounded by a given closed curve in space.
  • platinic chloride — chloroplatinic acid.
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