17-letter words containing f, e, m, t, o
- 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].
- from head to foot — all over one's body
- from pole to pole — throughout the entire world
- from side to side — movement: back and forth
- from the rooftops — If you shout something from the rooftops, you say it or announce it in a very public way.
- from time to time — the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another.
- front-end payment — a payment required or incurred in advance of a project in order to get it under way
- full-motion video — (video) (FMV) Any kind of video that is theoretically capable of changing the entire content on the screen fast enough that the transitions are not obvious to the human eye, i.e. about 24 times a second or more. In practise most video encoding relies on the fact that in most video there is relatively little change from one frame to the next. This allows for compression of the video data. The term is used, chiefly in computer games, in contrast to techniques such as the use of sprites that move against a more-or-less fixed background.
- 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.
- get (someone) off — to cause to experience euphoria, intoxication, an orgasm, etc.
- hardware platform — a group of compatible computers that can run the same software.
- heat of formation — the heat evolved or absorbed when one mole of a compound is formed from its constituent atoms
- immunofluorescent — Of, pertaining to, or using immunofluorescence.
- impersonification — (archaic) the act of impersonating; impersonation.
- improper fraction — a fraction having the numerator greater than the denominator.
- in the market for — an open place or a covered building where buyers and sellers convene for the sale of goods; a marketplace: a farmers' market.
- incomplete flower — a flower without one or more of the normal parts, as carpels, sepals, petals, pistils, or stamens.
- inertial platform — self-contained navigational devices used in inertial guidance, along with their mounting.
- judgment of paris — the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.
- 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.
- letter of comfort — comfort letter.
- letters of marque — a former government document authorizing an individual to make reprisals on the subjects of an enemy nation, specif. to arm a ship and capture enemy merchant ships and cargo
- life imprisonment — long-term prison sentence
- 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 hay (out) of — to turn (something) to one's advantage
- make light of sth — If you make light of something, you treat it as though it is not serious or important, when in fact it is.
- 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
- make sense of sth — When you make sense of something, you succeed in understanding it.
- make something of — to find a use for
- make the worst of — to be pessimistic about
- man enough to/for — If you say that a man is man enough to do something, you mean that he has the necessary courage or ability to do it.
- 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.
- margaret of anjou — 1430–82, queen of Henry VI of England.
- mark of the beast — the mark put on the forehead of those who worship the beast, the symbol of opposition to God.
- master of science — a master's degree given usually in a specific branch of the natural sciences, mathematics, or technology.
- matter of opinion — a point open to question; a debatable statement
- 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
- 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.
- metallofullerenes — Plural form of metallofullerene.
- method of payment — cash, credit card, cheque, etc.
- 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.
- 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.