17-letter words containing c, o, m, f
- forensic medicine — the application of medical knowledge to questions of civil and criminal law, especially in court proceedings.
- foucault pendulum — a pendulum that demonstrates the rotation of the earth by exhibiting an apparent change in its plane of oscillation.
- 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].
- frames per second — (unit) (fps) The unit of measurement of the frame rate of a moving image.
- freedom of speech — the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc.
- french somaliland — a former name of Djibouti (def 1).
- function complete — (programming) State of a software component or system such that each function described by the software's functional specification can be reached by at least one functional path, and attempts to operate as specified.
- 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.
- hemorrhagic fever — any of several arbovirus infections, as dengue, characterized by fever, chills, and malaise followed by hemorrhages of capillaries, sometimes leading to kidney failure and death.
- homolytic fission — the dissociation of a molecule into two neutral fragments
- immunofluorescent — Of, pertaining to, or using immunofluorescence.
- impersonification — (archaic) the act of impersonating; impersonation.
- implicit function — See at implicit (def 4).
- improper fraction — a fraction having the numerator greater than the denominator.
- in someone's face — the front part of the head, from the forehead to the chin.
- incomplete flower — a flower without one or more of the normal parts, as carpels, sepals, petals, pistils, or stamens.
- jumping-off place — a place for use as a starting point: Paris was the jumping-off place for our tour of Europe.
- knocking-off time — the time when you finish work
- laplace transform — a map of a function, as a signal, defined especially for positive real values, as time greater than zero, into another domain where the function is represented as a sum of exponentials.
- law of trichotomy — the property that for natural numbers a and b , either a is less than b , a equals b , or a is greater than b .
- letter of comfort — comfort letter.
- line of scrimmage — an imaginary line parallel to the goal lines that passes from one sideline to the other through the point of the football closest to the goal line of each team.
- luminous efficacy — the quotient of the luminous flux of a radiation and its corresponding radiant flux
- magnetizing force — that part of the magnetic induction that is determined at any point in space by the current density and displacement current at that point independently of the magnetic or other physical properties of the surrounding medium. Symbol: H.
- make mincemeat of — a mixture composed of minced apples, suet, and sometimes meat, together with raisins, currants, candied citron, etc., for filling a pie.
- make reference to — mention, allude to
- manifest function — any function of an institution or other social phenomenon that is planned and intentional.
- manufactured home — a prefabricated house, assembled in modular sections.
- master of science — a master's degree given usually in a specific branch of the natural sciences, mathematics, or technology.
- maurice of nassau — Prince of Orange 1567-1625; Du. statesman & military leader
- mayflower compact — an agreement to establish a government, entered into by the Pilgrims in the cabin of the Mayflower on November 11, 1620.
- memoised function — memo function
- memoized function — memo function
- mend one's fences — a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary.
- merchant of death — a company, nation, or person that sells military arms on the international market, usually to the highest bidder and without scruple or regard for political ramifications.
- mexican stand-off — A Mexican stand-off is a situation in which neither of the people or groups in a conflict or dispute can win and neither wants to give in first.
- microfiche reader — a machine that displays on a screen a magnified image of a microfiche
- microfilm plotter — a type of incremental plotter that has a film rather than a paper output
- microsoft network — The Microsoft Network
- microsoft project — (product) A Microsoft Windows program offering various project management tools.
- microsoft windows — (operating system) Microsoft's proprietary window system and user interface software released in 1985 to run on top of MS-DOS. Widely criticised for being too slow (hence "Windoze", "Microsloth Windows") on the machines available then. The 1996 market share of operating systems was: DOS/Windows 70% Windows 95 15% Windows NT 2% Other 13% Versions include 1985 Windows 1, 1987 Windows 2, 1987 Windows/386, 1990 Windows 3.0, 1992 Windows 3.1, 1992 Windows for Workgroups 3.1, 1993 Windows 3.11, 1993 Windows for Workgroups 3.11, 1993 Windows NT 3.1, 1994 Windows NT 3.5, 1995 Windows 95, 199? Windows NT 4, 1998 Windows 98, Windows NT 5, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.
- misidentification — to identify incorrectly.
- molecular formula — a chemical formula that indicates the kinds of atoms and the number of each kind in a molecule of a compound.
- monarch butterfly — a large, deep-orange butterfly, Danaus plexippus, having black and white markings, the larvae of which feed on the leaves of milkweed.
- motion of censure — a motion by opposition parties criticizing the government
- munitions factory — a factory where munitions are made
- non-reinforcement — the act of reinforcing.
- not think much of — be unimpressed by
- office automation — a method or system of using automated or electronic equipment, as word processors and computers, in the operations of an office.
- office by example — (language) (OBE) A sequel to QBE, described in publications by Moshe Zloof of IBM in the early 1980s but apparently never implemented.