28-letter words containing s, o, r, d, i, l
- peaches-and-cream complexion — a pale complexion with rosy cheeks
- probability density function — a function of a continuous variable whose integral over a region gives the probability that a random variable falls within the region.
- religious society of friends — a sect founded by George Fox in England about 1650, opposed to oath-taking and war.
- revised version of the bible — a recension of the Authorized Version, prepared by British and American scholars, the Old Testament being published in 1885, and the New Testament in 1881.
- richardson's ground squirrel — a ground squirrel of the NW USA and Canada, Citellus richardsoni
- second law of thermodynamics — any of three principles variously stated in equivalent forms, being the principle that the change of energy of a thermodynamic system is equal to the heat transferred minus the work done (first law of thermodynamics) the principle that no cyclic process is possible in which heat is absorbed from a reservoir at a single temperature and converted completely into mechanical work (second law of thermodynamics) and the principle that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in a finite number of operations (third law of thermodynamics)
- service advertising protocol — (networking) (SAP) A Novell NetWare protocol. SAP follows the spirit of the Xerox Clearinghouse protocol, it permits file, print, and gateway servers to advertise their services and addresses.
- silicon-controlled rectifier — a semiconductor rectifier whose forward current between two electrodes, the anode and cathode, is initiated by means of a signal applied to a third electrode, the gate. The current subsequently becomes independent of the signal. It is a type of thyristor
- simulation oriented language — (language) (SOL) An ALGOL extension for discrete simulation by Donald Knuth and McNeley.
- single in-line memory module — (storage) (SIMM) A small circuit board or substrate, typically about 10cm x 2cm, with RAM integrated circuits or die on one or both sides and a single row of pins along one long edge. Several SIMMs are mounted with their substrates at right-angles to the main circuit board (the motherboard). This configuration allows greater packing density than direct mounting of, e.g. DIL (dual in-line) RAM packages on the motherboard. In 1993 one SIMM typically held one or four megabytes, by early 1997 one could hold 8, 16, or 32 MB.
- single sideband transmission — a method of transmitting radio waves in which either the upper or the lower sideband is transmitted, the carrier being either wholly or partially suppressed. This reduces the required bandwidth and improves the signal-to-noise ratio
- smooth endoplasmic reticulum — a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
- standard normal distribution — a normal distribution with mean zero and variance 1, with probability density function [exp(–1⁄2x2)]/√2π
- strictly decreasing function — a function having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than the image of the smaller point.
- systems administrators guild — (body, job) (SAGE) A special technical group of the USENIX Association.
- television interface adaptor — (hardware, graphics) (TIA) The graphics chip in the Atari 2600, also used as a sound chip for some arcade game.
- the everglades national park — the Florida park established to preserve the flora and fauna of the Everglade swamps
- the last word/the final word — If someone has the last word or the final word in a discussion, argument, or disagreement, they are the one who wins it or who makes the final decision.
- the long and the short of it — the essential points or facts
- the medical research council — a government body that uses public funds to finance research in medicine
- the world owes them a living — If you say that someone thinks that the world owes them a living, you are criticizing them because they think it is their right to have a comfortable life without having to make any effort at all.
- to leave a lot to be desired — If you say that something leaves a lot to be desired, you mean that it is not as good as it should be.
- united states postal service — an independent federal agency created in 1971 to replace the Post Office Department as the division of the federal government responsible for postal services. Abbreviation: USPS.
- virgin islands national park — a national park on St. John Island, Virgin Islands: prehistoric Indian relics. 24 sq. mi. (62 sq. km).
- walden, or life in the woods — a book of philosophical observations (1854) by Thoreau.
- zeroth law of thermodynamics — the principle that any two systems in thermal equilibrium with a third system are in thermal equilibrium with each other. Compare law of thermodynamics (def 2).