17-letter words containing d, e, f, c, t
- 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].
- full load current — A full load current is the largest current that a motor or other device is designed to carry under particular conditions.
- further education — adult education.
- go for the doctor — to make a great effort or move very fast, esp in a horse race
- grandfather clock — a pendulum floor clock having a case as tall as or taller than a person; tall-case clock; long-case clock.
- grey-faced petrel — a dark-coloured New Zealand petrel, Pterodroma macroptera gouldi
- grooved fricative — a fricative, as (s), in which air is channeled through a groove along the center of the tongue.
- household effects — domestic belongings
- i can't be fagged — I can't be bothered
- identity function — identity (def 9d).
- induction furnace — a type of electric furnace used for melting a charge of scrap by the heat produced by its own electrical resistance.
- interference drag — the drag on an aircraft caused by the interaction of two aerodynamic bodies.
- line of induction — (formerly) a line of force in a magnetic field.
- manufactured home — a prefabricated house, assembled in modular sections.
- mare fecunditatis — (Sea of Fertility) a dark plain in the fourth quadrant and extending into the first quadrant of the face of the moon: about 160,000 sq. mi. (415,000 sq. km).
- memoised function — memo function
- memoized function — memo function
- mental deficiency — mental retardation
- 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.
- misidentification — to identify incorrectly.
- neck of the woods — the part of the body of an animal or human being that connects the head and the trunk.
- negative feedback — Electronics. the process of returning part of the output of a circuit, system, or device to the input, either to oppose the input (negative feedback) or to aid the input (positive feedback) acoustic feedback.
- object identifier — (programming) (OID) Generally an implementation-specific integer or pointer that uniquely identifies an object.
- of the old school — If you approve of someone because they have good qualities that used to be more common in the past, you can describe them as one of the old school.
- overhead camshaft — a camshaft in an automotive engine that is located in the cylinder head over the engine block rather than in the block. Abbreviation: OHC.
- peridot of ceylon — a honey-colored tourmaline, used as a gem: not a true peridot.
- periodic function — a function of a real or complex variable that is periodic.
- port orford cedar — a tall tree, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, of coastal Oregon, having flattened, scalelike foliage and wood highly valued as timber.
- positive feedback — Electronics. the process of returning part of the output of a circuit, system, or device to the input, either to oppose the input (negative feedback) or to aid the input (positive feedback) acoustic feedback.
- pre-modifications — an act or instance of modifying.
- pseudo-scientific — any of various methods, theories, or systems, as astrology, psychokinesis, or clairvoyance, considered as having no scientific basis.
- reduction formula — a formula, such as sin (90° ± A) = cos A, expressing the values of a trigonometric function of any angle greater than 90° in terms of a function of an acute angle
- refractory period — a short period after a nerve or muscle cell fires during which the cell cannot respond to additional stimulation.
- refuse destructor — someone responsible for or something that destructs or destroys rubbish and waste
- registered office — official business address
- rheumatoid factor — an antibody that is found in the blood of many persons afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis and that reacts against globulins in the blood.
- scientific method — a method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.
- self-commendation — the act of commending; recommendation; praise: commendation for a job well done.
- self-condemnation — the act of condemning.
- self-conditioning — Also called operant conditioning, instrumental conditioning. a process of changing behavior by rewarding or punishing a subject each time an action is performed until the subject associates the action with pleasure or distress.
- self-depreciating — self-deprecating.
- self-dissociation — an act or instance of dissociating.
- self-introduction — the act of introducing or the state of being introduced.
- self-reproduction — the act or process of reproducing.
- semi-manufactured — the making of goods or wares by manual labor or by machinery, especially on a large scale: the manufacture of television sets.
- sound effects man — a man who produces sounds artificially or reproduces them from a recording, etc, to create a theatrical effect, such as the bringing together of two halves of a hollow coconut shell to simulate a horse's gallop. Such sound effects are used in plays, films, etc
- specific humidity — the ratio of the mass of water vapor in air to the total mass of the mixture of air and water vapor.
- speech difficulty — a problem encountered in speaking
- the confederation — the original 13 states of the United States of America constituted under the Articles of Confederation and superseded by the more formal union established in 1789