16-letter words containing ac
- faction fighting — dissension
- factor of safety — the ratio of the maximum stress that a structural part or other piece of material can withstand to the maximum stress estimated for it in the use for which it is designed.
- feedback control — (electronics) A control system which monitors its effect on the system it is controlling and modifies its output accordingly. For example, a thermostat has two inputs: the desired temperature and the current temperature (the latter is the feedback). The output of the thermostat changes so as to try to equalise the two inputs. Computer disk drives use feedback control to position the read/write heads accurately on a recording track. Complex systems such as the human body contain many feedback systems that interact with each other; the homeostasis mechanisms that control body temperature and acidity are good examples.
- feel-good factor — When journalists refer to the feel-good factor, they mean that people are feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future.
- ferricyanic acid — a brown, crystalline, unstable, water-soluble solid, H 3 Fe(CN) 6 , obtained by the interaction of a ferricyanide and an acid.
- ferrocyanic acid — a white, crystalline, unstable, water-soluble solid, H 4 Fe(CN) 6 , obtained by the interaction of a ferrocyanide and an acid.
- fertility factor — a sex-determining chromosome or gene.
- feulgen reaction — a reaction in which an aldehyde combines with a modified Schiff's reagent to produce a purplish compound: used especially to test for the presence of DNA
- fibonacci number — a number in the Fibonacci sequence, each of which is the sum of the previous two
- fibonacci series — a sequence of integers in which each integer (Fibonacci number) after the second is the sum of the two preceding integers; specif., the series 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, . . .
- firewall machine — (networking, security) A dedicated gateway server with special security precautions on it, used to service external connections (typically from the public Internet). The firewall machine protects servers and networks hidden behind it from crackers. The typical firewall is an inexpensive microprocessor-based Unix machine with no critical data, with public network ports on it, but just one carefully watched connection back to the rest of the cluster. The special precautions may include threat monitoring, call-back, and even a complete iron box keyable to particular incoming IDs or activity patterns. The type of network and security environment of a firewall machine is often called a De-Militarised Zone (DMZ). It may contain other servers such as e-mail servers or proxy gateways - machines that need to be publicly accessible but also need some access to internal systems. Also known as a (Venus) flytrap after the insect-eating plant.
- flat-track bully — a sportsperson who dominates inferior opposition, but who cannot beat top-level opponents
- fluosilicic acid — an unstable acid, H 2 SiF 6 , known only in its colorless, poisonous, fuming aqueous solution or in the form of its salts: used chiefly as a wood preservative, a disinfectant, and as a hardening agent in the manufacture of ceramic ware, cement, and concrete.
- formation packer — A formation packer is a substance that is used as a seal between the casing and the borehole so that part of the hole can be tested.
- forward contract — a contract to buy or sell an asset at a point in the future at a previously agreed price
- franking machine — a machine that franks letters
- frigate mackerel — a small, blue-green, black-striped fish, Auxis thazard, abundant in tropical seas, having dark, oily flesh that is sometimes used as food.
- galactic cluster — a comparatively young, irregularly shaped group of stars, often numbering up to several hundred, and held together by mutual gravitation; usually found along the central plane of the Milky Way and other galaxies.
- galactic equator — the great circle on the celestial sphere that is equidistant from the galactic poles, being inclined approximately 62° to the celestial equator and lying about one degree north of the center line of the Milky Way.
- galenic pharmacy — the art or practice of preparing and dispensing galenicals.
- gapless playback — audio or visual playback without any interruptions or silence between tracks or scenes
- gas liquefaction — Gas liquefaction is the process of refrigerating a gas to a temperature that is below its critical temperature in order to form a liquid.
- gay-lussac's law — the principle that, for relatively low pressures, the density of an ideal gas at constant pressure varies inversely with the absolute temperature of the gas.
- general factotum — a person who does all sorts of jobs; general assistant
- general practice — family practice.
- geometrical pace — a pace of 5 feet (1.5 meters), representing the distance between the places at which the same foot rests on the ground in walking.
- german cockroach — a common yellowish-brown cockroach, Blatta germanica, brought into the U.S. from Europe.
- gibberellic acid — a gibberellin C 18 H 21 O 4 COOH, produced as a metabolite by the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi, used as a stimulator of plant growth.
- golden parachute — an employment contract or agreement guaranteeing a key executive of a company substantial severance pay and other financial benefits in the event of job loss caused by the company's being sold or merged.
- grace-and-favour — (of a house, flat, etc) owned by the sovereign and granted free of rent to a person to whom the sovereign wishes to express gratitude
- greyhound racing — a sport in which a mechanically propelled dummy hare is pursued by greyhounds around a race track
- hacienda heights — a city in SW California, near Los Angeles.
- hairbrush cactus — a stout, spiny cactus, Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum, of Mexico, having white flowers and bristly fruits sometimes used locally as combs.
- haptic interface — (interface, hardware) A touch interface to a computer that provides feedback, such as a data glove.
- hard-packed snow — snow which becomes very firmly packed as it becomes refrozen due to cold weather conditions rather than melting
- heat of reaction — the heat evolved or absorbed when one mole of a product is formed at constant pressure
- hexachloroethane — a colorless crystalline compound, C 2 Cl 6 , with a camphorlike odor, soluble in alcohol and ether, insoluble in water: used in organic synthesis and pyrotechnics, as a retarding agent in fermentation, and as a solvent.
- hexanedioic acid — adipic acid.
- himachal pradesh — a state in N India. 21,495 sq. mi. (55,673 sq. km). Capital: Shimla.
- hold one's peace — the normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.
- homeroom teacher — the teacher attached to the homeroom of a group of students
- horseback riding — activity: riding a horse
- huntington beach — a city in SW California, SE of Los Angeles.
- hydnocarpic acid — an acid, C 16 H 28 O 2 , obtained from chaulmoogra oil, and used in the treatment of leprosy.
- hydrobromic acid — a colorless or faintly yellow corrosive liquid, HBr, an aqueous solution of hydrogen bromide.
- hydrocyanic acid — a colorless, highly poisonous liquid, HCN, an aqueous solution of hydrogen cyanide.
- hydrophyllaceous — belonging to the Hydrophyllaceae, the waterleaf family of plants.
- hyperaccumulator — a plant that absorbs toxins, such as heavy metals, to a greater concentration than that in the soil in which it is growing
- hyponitrous acid — an unstable, crystalline acid, H 2 N 2 O 2 .
- impact extrusion — an extrusion process in which a slug of cold metal in a shallow die cavity is formed by the action of a rapidly moving punch that forces the metal through the die or back around the punch.