17-letter words containing c, i, t, r, a
- electrochemically — In an electrochemical manner.
- electrofiltration — Electrofiltration is a separation process in which an electric field is applied across a filter to improve separation.
- electromechanical — Of, relating to, or denoting a mechanical device that is electrically operated.
- electromyographic — Using electromyography.
- electron affinity — a measure of the ability of an atom or molecule to form a negative ion, expressed as the energy released when an electron is attached
- electronegativity — The tendency, or a measure of the ability, of an atom or molecule to attract electrons and thus form bonds.
- electroretinogram — A record of the electrical activity of the retina, used in medical diagnosis and research.
- electrostatically — In an electrostatic manner, by electrostatic means.
- elliptical spring — An elliptical spring is a spring that is made from two springs in the shape of elongated ovals laid cut in half and back-to-back.
- emergency rations — food and drink that is designated for use in an emergency: for example, in a famine, after a plane crash, when hill-walkers or mountaineers are stranded, etc.
- emotional cripple — someone who is unable to feel or show true emotion and so cannot form relationships with other people
- esprit d'escalier — clever repartee one thinks of too late
- exception handler — Special code which is called when an exception occurs during the execution of a program. If the programmer does not provide a handler for a given exception, a built-in system exception handler will usually be called resulting in abortion of the program run and some kind of error indication being returned to the user. Examples of exception handler mechanisms are Unix's signal calls and Lisp's catch and throw.
- exfoliating cream — a granular cosmetic preparation that removes dead cells from the skin's surface
- experience rating — Experience rating is a method of adjusting the premium for a risk based on past loss experience for that risk compared to loss experience for an average risk.
- factory inspector — a person who inspects factories
- facts and figures — details; precise information
- fair market price — the price of something at which both a seller and a buyer are willing to strike a deal.
- fairness doctrine — a policy mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, requiring radio and television stations to grant equal time to a political candidate, group, etc., to present an opposing viewpoint to one already aired.
- farming community — a community where farming is the main industry
- farthingale chair — an English chair of c1600 having no arms, a straight and low back, and a high seat.
- fermentation lock — a valve placed on the top of bottles of fermenting wine to allow bubbles to escape
- ferrimagnetically — In a ferrimagnetic manner.
- ferroelectric ram — Ferroelectric Random Access Memory
- financial futures — futures in a stock-exchange index, currency exchange rate, or interest rate enabling banks, building societies, brokers, and speculators to hedge their involvement in these markets
- first call on sth — If you have first call on something, you will be asked before anyone else whether you want to buy or use it.
- first commandment — “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”: first of the Ten Commandments.
- first performance — the first time that a play or concert is performed
- first-aid classes — classes which teach people how to give immediate medical help in an emergency
- flagrante delicto — Law. in the very act of committing the offense.
- flickertail state — North Dakota (used as a nickname).
- floating currency — a currency that is free to fluctuate against other currencies in accordance with market forces
- floating dry dock — a dock that floats and can be lowered in the water for the entrance of a ship, and then raised for use as a dry dock
- flowering currant — an ornamental shrub, Ribes sanguineum, growing to 2 to 3 metres (6 to 9ft) in height, with red, crimson, yellow, or white flowers: family Saxifragaceae
- flowering tobacco — any plant belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, as N. alata and N. sylvestris, having clusters of fragrant flowers that usually bloom at night, grown as an ornamental.
- fluid lubrication — lubrication in which bearing surfaces are separated by an oil film sustained by the motion of the parts
- foreign secretary — foreign minister.
- foundation course — A foundation course is a course that you do at some colleges and universities in order to prepare yourself for a longer or more advanced course.
- fractal dimension — (mathematics) A common type of fractal dimension is the Hausdorff-Besicovich Dimension, but there are several different ways of computing fractal dimension. Fractal dimension can be calculated by taking the limit of the quotient of the log change in object size and the log change in measurement scale, as the measurement scale approaches zero. The differences come in what is exactly meant by "object size" and what is meant by "measurement scale" and how to get an average number out of many different parts of a geometrical object. Fractal dimensions quantify the static *geometry* of an object. For example, consider a straight line. Now blow up the line by a factor of two. The line is now twice as long as before. Log 2 / Log 2 = 1, corresponding to dimension 1. Consider a square. Now blow up the square by a factor of two. The square is now 4 times as large as before (i.e. 4 original squares can be placed on the original square). Log 4 / log 2 = 2, corresponding to dimension 2 for the square. Consider a snowflake curve formed by repeatedly replacing ___ with _/\_, where each of the 4 new lines is 1/3 the length of the old line. Blowing up the snowflake curve by a factor of 3 results in a snowflake curve 4 times as large (one of the old snowflake curves can be placed on each of the 4 segments _/\_). Log 4 / log 3 = 1.261... Since the dimension 1.261 is larger than the dimension 1 of the lines making up the curve, the snowflake curve is a fractal. [sci.fractals FAQ].
- fractionalization — Separation into parts by fractionalizing.
- fraternal society — a club or other association, usually of men, having a limited membership and devoted to professional, religious, charitable, or social activities.
- freezer container — a rigid plastic container used to hold food that is to be frozen
- freight insurance — insurance paid on goods in transport
- functional isomer — any of several structural isomers that have the same molecular formula but with the atoms connected in different ways and therefore falling into different functional groups.
- further education — adult education.
- genealogical tree — family tree.
- general semantics — a philosophical approach to language, developed by Alfred Korzybski, exploring the relationship between the form of language and its use and attempting to improve the capacity to express ideas.
- genetic algorithm — (GA) An evolutionary algorithm which generates each individual from some encoded form known as a "chromosome" or "genome". Chromosomes are combined or mutated to breed new individuals. "Crossover", the kind of recombination of chromosomes found in sexual reproduction in nature, is often also used in GAs. Here, an offspring's chromosome is created by joining segments choosen alternately from each of two parents' chromosomes which are of fixed length. GAs are useful for multidimensional optimisation problems in which the chromosome can encode the values for the different variables being optimised.
- geomagnetic storm — magnetic storm.
- gestatorial chair — a ceremonial chair on which the pope is carried