Glossary of Terms used in Physics and Science.
abiogenesis: Also called Origins of Life: the scientific study of how life arose from non-living matter roughly 3.8 billion years ago on Earth. See Life page and the Evolution page
animals: Life forms here on Earth, living organisms based on carbon that live here on Earth. Animals are classified into groups. See Type of Life page See Life Page
archaeology: is the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains. See Archaeology page
asteroids: Metallic, rocky objects without atmospheres that orbit the Sun, but are too small to be called planets.
asteroid belt rocky belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, containing millions of rocky debris leftovers from the solar system's formation.
anthropic principle: States that humanity lives in a universe at the just-right location, the just-right time, and with the just-right physical constants. More tuned features of the universe are being discovered. See anthropic principle page See Space-Time page
astronomy: The branch of science that studies celestial objects (stars, galaxies, and more, space, energy, and the physical universe as a whole. See Space-Time page See Universe/ Earth's age page See Laws of physics page See Creation model page See History of the Universe page See Why so Vast page See Why so Dark page See Relativity page
atmospheric: The air surrounding the Earth (or other planet), described as a series of shells or layers of different characteristics. The Earth's atmosphere, composed mainly of nitrogen and oxygen with traces of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases, acts as a buffer between Earth and the sun. The Earth's layers, troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and the exosphere, vary around the globe and in response to seasonal changes. Mars has very thin air 0.7%. Venus has 90 times. Earth's air. Earth's air is very thin for Earth's size.
auroral zone: a ring-shaped, high-latitude region surrounding Earth's magnetic poles where aurora borealis and australis most frequently occur.
biomass: Organic nonfossil material of biological origin. For example, trees and plants are biomass.
birds: are warm-blooded animal that has feathers, wings, two legs, and lays eggs with hard shells. They are vertebrates (have a backbone) and most can fly, though some, like penguins and ostriches, cannot. Birds are found all over the world, from cold deserts to busy cities. They have been on Earht for over 210 million years and lived at the same time as dinosaurs. See Bird page
black hole: is an outspace body so compact that its gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping. Black holes are found by looking for the event horizon light. The "horizon light" of a black hole is the intensely bright accretion disk of gas and plasma orbiting just outside the event horizon of the black hole, before it enters the black hole. A wormhole, a theoretical (does not happen in reality) passage through spacetime connecting two distant points, potentially acting as a shortcut for interstellar travel (a form of science fiction).
botany: a branch of biology dealing with plant life. See the Plants page
bow shock: A sharp front formed in the solar wind ahead of the magnetosphere (earth magnetic field), marked with a sudden slowing-down of the flow near Earth. It is quite similar to the shock forming ahead of the wing of a supersonic aircraft. Earth is unique in that it has a large, stable magnetic field that protects life from the Sun's deadly radiation. The magnetic field is created at Earth's unique core.
carbon cycle: All parts (reservoirs) and fluxes of carbon. The cycle is usually thought of as four main reservoirs of carbon interconnected by pathways of exchange. The reservoirs are the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere (usually includes freshwater systems), oceans, and sediments (includes fossil fuels). The annual movements of carbon, the carbon exchanges between reservoirs, occur because of various chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes. The ocean contains the largest pool of carbon near the surface of the Earth, but most of that pool is not involved with rapid exchange with the atmosphere. All life forms are conboan based, see Life page
climate: The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period. Climate Change a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century. See Climate Page
comets: A small body, of mostly ice and dust, in orbit around the Sun or passing through the solar system in large orbits. While passing near the Sun, the comet's vaporized ice becomes its two tails, a bright white one composed of dust, and a blue one made up of ionized gas.
coronal mass ejections: Huge bursts of solar wind (radiation) rising above the Sun's corona. One of the biggest explosions in our solar system.
cosmic rays are deadly high-energy particles that travel through space.
cosmological constant: Albert Einstein's theory of relativity predicted that the Universe is expanding. Believing (due to his worldview, not science) the Universe to be static (no beginning), he added an extra term to his famous equations, the "cosmological constant" term represented by the Greek letter lambda (Λ). With this added term, his equations allowed for a "static" Universe. When Edwin Hubble's studies found the Universe was expanding (had a beginning), Einstein called it "the greatest blunder of my life." See Space-Time page and the Relativity page.
cosmology: A branch of astronomy that deals with the origin, structure, and space-time relationships of the universe. See Space-Time page and the Relativity page.
dark energy in the spacetime curvature of the universe and throughout all of space. it can not be seen, but is causing the expansion of the universe. See So Vast and See So Dark page
dark matter: Nonluminous matter not yet directly detected by astronomers that is hypothesized to exist to account for various observed gravitational effects. See So Dark page
death: 1) The end of an action or object 2) The end/killing of a person or living organism. 3) "Heat Death" the future of the universe due to the 2nd law of thermodynamics. See Death page. See New Creation page See Life Page See End Times See God of Bible Page
decay (2nd law of thermodynamics): Heat will flow from hot to cold. Disorder and randomness will always increase in a closed system. Thus the universe is getting cold and will, in the far future, have a “heat death”. See Decay page
dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles that first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago. Three types: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous, in their time span. A massive asteroid impact in modern-day Mexico resulted in the extinction of all dinosaurs 66 million years ago. See Dinos page
ecosystems: the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit. See Life page
earth: is the third planet from the Sun and the only planet in the universe to support advanced life. Earth is a terrestrial, rocky planet with liquid water, oceans, a protective atmosphere, and a dynamic surface with plate tectonics and a large protective magnetic field. Earth is also unique among planets in having one very large moon for its size. See Earth's age page See life page See Laws of physics page See Are We Alone page See Creation model page See History of the Universe page
extra solar planets: (exoplanet) (exo solar system) Planets around stars other than the Sun. Solar systems not around the sun, but other stars. See Are We Alone? page
evolution theory: the theory of how animals, plants, and other living organisms change over time into different forms. See life page See plants page See Animal Life page See Evolution page
galactic (galaxy): Having to do with the galaxy. A galaxy is one of billions of large systems of stars and gas, held together by gravity, that make up the universe. They come in different sizes and shapes. Spapes: Barred Spirals, Spiral, Elliptical, Lenticular, and Irregular. The Milky Way is a large, very stable barred spiral galaxy, one of a kind.
gamma rays: A high energy photon. The sun outputs massive amounts of deadly gamma rays. Earth's atmosphere acts as a protective shield against harmful cosmic radiation, absorbing nearly 100% of high-energy gamma and X-rays.
habitable zone: Any place that may have liquid water for a short time span. Has nothing to do with life. (Maybe bacteria) See Are we Alone page
habitable zones for complex life: The place that has all the need requiemnts to support life above bacteria. That place is Earth. See Are We Alone page
helioseismology: Utilizes waves that propagate throughout the Sun to measure, for the first time, the invisible internal structure and dynamics of a star.
heliosphere: The heliosphere is an area centered around the Sun over which the effect of the solar wind extends. The heliosphere extends beyond the orbit of Pluto.
history of the universe: Also called cosmology: The universe began 13.7 billion years and is expanding rapidly from an extremely hot, dense state. Early, rapid inflation allowed matter and energy to form as it cooled, creating the first elements like hydrogen and helium. Over time, gravity formed stars and galaxies, creating the universe known today. See History of the Universe page See Space-Time page See Time page See Universe/ Earth's age page. See Decay page See Laws of physics page See Are We Alone page See Creation model page See History of the Universe page See Why so Vast page See Why so Dark page See Relativity page
hominids: A family of primates, that are bipedal primates (animals). The Hominids appeared before modern humans. See Hominids page
human: Also called Homo sapiens sapiens, and modern humans (to separate from Hominids). The most recent species on Earth. Humans are hairless, bipedal (two feet walking), have very good manual dexterity with opposable thumbs, precision grip, and high intelligence. Humans have large brains compared to body size, enabling more advanced cognitive skills that facilitate sophisticated tools. They have complex social structures and civilizations. The only life form with ubiquitous worship in all civilizations. See the Image of God page for details. See Human Origin See Human Uniqueness
inertia: A property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force. See Laws of Physics page
interstellar: Between the stars. Also called outspace. Light and stellar radiation travel in interstellar space. Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are now in interstellar space. Interstellar is vast; the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, is 4 light-years away (24 trillion miles). At 80,000 MPH (as fast as a spaceship can travel), it would take 34,223 years to get there. Alpha Centauri is a triple star system, so there is no life there. See So Vast page See Are we Alone page
Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. Including changes to its speed or direction.
ionosphere: the part of the earth's atmosphere in which ionization of atmospheric gases affects the propagation of radio waves, which extends from about 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the exosphere, and which is contiguous with the upper portion of the mesosphere and the thermosphere
isotope: an atom having the same atomic number (number of protons in the nucleus) as another atom but differing in atomic weight (due to different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus). Some are radioactive.
Laws of Physics and the Constants of Physics: Laws of physics are fundamental, experimentally proven principles that describe universal behaviors of matter, energy, space, and time. See Laws of Physics page
Law of Causality, or law of cause and effect, states that every effect has an adequate, preceding cause, meaning nothing occurs by chance. It is a foundational principle of science and philosophy, asserting that all material effects require a cause and that this cause must be greater than or equal to the effect. It posits that nothing changes or comes into existence without a cause, serving as a foundational principle in science, logic, and philosophy. The cause must possess at least as much reality, perfection, or "information content" as its effect. This concept suggests that a cause must be adequate to produce the effect. The universe had a beginning (all space, mass, energy, and time had a beginning). The One that brought the universe into existence must be greater than the universe. Only the God of the Bible is described as having these traits. See Space time page
life: the state that separates animals and plants from inorganic matter (rock sand, and alike), includes the ability for growth, reproduction, that preceds death. See life page See plants page See Animal Life page See Evolution page
magnetic storms: A large-scale disturbance of the magnetosphere (Earth's magnetic shield), often initiated by the arrival of an interplanetary shock originating at the Sun.
magnetopause: The boundary surface between the solar wind and the magnetosphere where the pressure of the magnetic field equals the pressure of the solar wind
magnetosphere: The region surrounding a celestial body where its magnetic field controls the motions of charged particles.
mars: A small red planet. Is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It's the only planet inhabited entirely by robots, sent by NASA's JPL. It is very cold and dry, with deadly solar radiation. But, these are things robots can handle and life can not. See Mars page
mathematics: the abstract science of numbers, and space. Mathematics may be studied in its own right ( pure mathematics ), or as it is applied to other disciplines such as physics and engineering ( applied mathematics ). Math is a product of the mind used to understand the Record of Nature. See Math page See Laws of Physics page
meteor: Any of the small particles of matter in the solar system that are directly observable only by their incandescence from frictional heating on entry into the atmosphere. They burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, travelling at high speeds, up to 100,000 MPH. The light is made by the law of E=MC^2, See Laws of Physics page
meteorites: A meteor that reaches the surface of the earth without being completely vaporized.
meteorology: Study of the atmosphere and its phenomena (Rain, wind and etc).
Milky Way: The galaxy of which the sun and the solar system are a part and which contains the myriads of stars that create the light of the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a large, very stable barred spiral galaxy, one of a kind. The stable arms, with just the right amount of start formation, are what make life possible here on Earth. To date, no other stable barred spiral galaxy has been found, even though there are many galaxies. See the " Are We Alone page.
modeling: A representation of a process, system, or object developed to understand its behavior or to make predictions. The representation always involves certain simplifications and assumptions. To see whether the model is correct, it must be able to make predictions about future discoveries that will either confirm (prove) it or falsify it. See Creation Model Page for details.
moon 1) an object that orbits a planet. 2) the Moon that orbits Earth. The Moon slows the earth roation to 23 hours for life. The Moon stabilizes Earth's orbit for life. Earth is unique among planets in having one very large moon for its size. See Earth's age page See life page See Laws of physics page See Are We Alone page
multiverse theory: A theory invented after the discovery that our universe had a beginning and is hily fine-tune to support life, called the anthropic principle. There is no evidence to support the multiverse theory, and there never will be as it is a metaphysical theory. See multiverse page See anthropic principle page
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The USA agency for manned and unmanned space flights. NASA has also now contracted out space flights to private companies, like SpaceX, which now travels to the International Space Station (ISS). Future private projects are with Blue Origin, Boeing, and Virgin Galactic.
natural disasters: are extreme, sudden events caused by environmental factors that injure people and damage property, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes. These events, which have increased in frequency and severity, cause widespread destruction, economic loss, and humanitarian crises. See natural disasters page
near-earth objects (NEO): Asteroids or comets whose orbit intersects Earth's orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger. Due to their size and proximity, NEOs are also more easily accessible for spacecraft from Earth. In fact, some near-Earth asteroids can be reached with much less change in velocity than the Moon.
nebulae a vast, glowing clouds of dust and interstellar gas acting as stellar nurseries (birthing new stars) or remnants of dying stars, often measuring hundreds of light-years across.
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
nothing: Has a few definitions like: not anything; no single thing, lacking air, outer space, and no space, time, energy, and matter. See Nothing page See Space-Time page
nova: A star that suddenly increases its light output tremendously and then fades away to its former obscurity in a few months or years.
neutron star are the incredibly dense, city-sized remnants of collapsed massive stars, containing about to solar masses packed into a radius of only 10–20 km. Formed by supernova explosions, they consist almost entirely of neutrons, with densities so extreme that a teaspoon weighs over a billion tons.
oort Cloud: A spherical shell of cometary bodies that surround the sun far beyond the orbit of Pluto and from which some are dislodged when perturbed (as by a passing star) to fall toward the sun. Dark Matter is also part of the shell. See So Dark page
particle: In general, a charged component of an atom, that is, an ion or electron.
photon: A quantum of electromagnetic radiation. A fundamental particle and quantum of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation, serving as the carrier of the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, possess energy proportional to their frequency. See Relativity page
photosphere: The layer of the Sun from which all visible light reaches us.
plasma: A fourth state of matter (in addition to solid, liquid, and gas) that exists in space (sometime on Earth). In this state, atoms are positively charged and share space with free negatively charged electrons. Plasma can conduct electricity and interact strongly with electric and magnetic fields. The solar wind is actually hot plasma blowing from the sun. See magnetosphere.
periodic table is the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements order of atomic number. (Carbon is a chemical element with the atomic number 6, meaning it has 6 protons, 6 electrons, and 6 neutrons, all life is carbon-based. See Life page)
prebiotic: Before the start of life. See Life Page
precipitation: Moisture that falls from clouds. (Liquid Rain, Snow, Ice Sleet, Hail, Frozen rain) All are very important to have an advanced life on Earth.
protons: The positively charged part of an atom. The number of protons determines which element the particle is. It is part of the nucleus.
pulsars highly magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron stars, the collapsed remnants of massive stars.
relativity Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (while still called a theory, it has passed many tests and should be called a law). Relates mass to energy and describes physics at high speeds and large gravitational fields. The law, General and Special. See the Relativity page
quantum mechanics: fundamental physical theory describing the behavior of matter and energy at subatomic scales, where classical physics fails. It reveals that particles (like electrons) exhibit wave-particle duality and exist in probabilistic, quantized states. Key principles include superposition, entanglement, and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The uncertainty is a fine-tuned feature of the universe.
science: The study of the Record of Nature. The systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained. See Laws of Physics page See Relativity page See Math page See Bible vs Science
solar activity: Phenomena of the solar atmosphere associated with sunspots, plagues, and related phenomena. The solar cycle is an approximately 11-year fluctuation in the Sun’s magnetic activity and sunspot count, driven by magnetic field reversals. The Sun is the most stable star in the universe and is at this time in its most stable part of its life. The sun is rare in metal richness for its age and mass. Sun’s mass is far above the average value for its age. The Sun’s light output varies by only 0.1% over a full sunspot cycle (approximately 11 years). All other stars are above 4%. The sun's 5,778 K surface temperature, also called color, is rare for its mass and age. All these are fine-tunes for advance life on Earth. Closest thing to a solar twin is HD 186302, but it is too small, too red, and too young, too unstable, to be a twin of the sun. See We are Alone page.
solar system 1) our system of a gravitationally bound ojects: Sun with major planets (Mercury to Neptune), dwarf planets with millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. 2) Other solar systems, 4,600 have been found, not one looks like our solar system; the planets are too close to the star or too far away. See We are Alone page.
solar wind: Plasma continuously ejected from the sun's surface into and through interplanetary space. Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere protects life on Earth from its deadly radiation.
space-time curvature: At the "edge" of the universe is space-time curvature. The universe (observable universe and unobservable universe) is finite, but it is very large. At the "edge" of the universe is space-time curvature. It is space-time curvature that is approaching the speed of light and, someday, exceeding it due to the expansion of the universe. The 3 dimensions of space are confined to the one dimension of time, so it is not just space that is expanding, but time also. This are expanding to space and time beyond the universe. See Space-Time Curvature page
space-time theorem: The spacetime theorem is proven mathematically, supported by Einstein's relativity. They define the universe as a 4D continuum where space and time are interconnected. All space dimensions and the time dimension of the universe had a beginning. The law of Causity demonstrates that a causal agent beyond the universe brought the universe (all space, time, matter, and energy) into existence. This is now known to be 13.813 ±0.038 billion years ago. See Space-Time page See Time page See Universe/ Earth's age page. See Laws of physics page See Creation model page See History of the Universe page See Why so Vast page See Relativity page
star is a massive, luminous sphere, primarily hydrogen and helium, held together by its own gravity. Stars made immense heat and light through nuclear fusion in their cores. The star converts hydrogen into helium in their cores. All stars are not able to support advanced life: dwarfs are too cool and unstable. Bi-star (two in an orbit) unstable orbits. Large stars are unstable. Young and old stars are too unstable. Even the few other sun-sized stars are too unstable. The sun is the only stable star. See Alone page
star cluster gravitationally bound groups of stars that form together from the same molecular cloud, deadly for life. The sun is no in a custer, on star is 4 light-years (ly) away, next star is 35 ly away, closest clusters 150 ly away, which is good! See So Dark See Alone page
subatomic: Of, relating to, or being particles smaller than atoms. Quantum mechanics happend at the is level of the very small.
sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. the sun is the only stable star. See the " Alone page
sunspots: A region on the surface (photosphere) of the sun that is temporarily cool and dark compared to surrounding areas.
supernova: The death explosion of a massive star whose core has completely burned out. Supernova explosions can temporarily outshine a galaxy. The outer layers are blasted out in an expanding cloud. This cloud is visible long after the initial explosion fades, and is called a supernova remnant (SNR). Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere protects life on Earth from its deadly radiation if it s close by.
tectonics: A branch of geology concerned with the structure of the crust of a planet (like earth) or moon and especially with the formation of folds and faults in it. See fossil record page
terrestrial: Belonging to the class of planets that are like the Earth (as in density and silicate composition), relating to land masses. To date, no planet has been found that is like Earth, able to support advanced life. See Are we Along page
time: Time for humans and the timeline of the universe is a one-dimensional time is always moving forward. Time cannot be reversed or stopped. Thermodynamic - entropy happens with the passage of time. The law of cause and effect happens only in time. Relationships only happen in the passage of time. Our Time was created 13.79 billion years ago at the creation of the universe. See Time page See Relativity page See Space-Time page
ultraviolet: Electromagnetic radiation resembling visible light, but of shorter wavelength. The eye cannot see UV, and much of it is absorbed by ozone, a variant of oxygen, at altitudes of 30-40 km. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is considered a complete carcinogen and is dangerous because it directly damages DNA in skin cells, causing over 1.5 million skin cancers and 120,000 associated deaths annually. Excessive exposure causes, premature aging, immune system suppression, and serious eye damage (cataracts).
ultraviolet radiation: The energy range just beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum. Although ultraviolet radiation constitutes only about 5 percent of the total energy emitted from the sun, it is the major energy source for the stratosphere and mesosphere, playing a dominant role in both energy balance and chemical composition. The Earth's atmosphere acts as a critical shield, absorbing nearly all UVC and most UVB radiation before it reaches the ground. This blocking is achieved primarily by ozone in the stratosphere, along with molecular oxygen and water vapor. While this prevents harmful radiation from reaching the surface, about 95% of the UV that does reach the ground is UVA, with some UVB. Please use sunblock and correct sunglasses if outdoors for more than 15 minutes. Ext link
universe: All the energy, matter, time, and space dimensions of the whole cosmos. The universe contains a vast number of galaxies and stars; it has been expanding since its creation (called the Big Bang) and is 13.7 billion years old. The size and mass of the universe have been found to be fine-tuned to a high degree for life to exist anywhere in the universe, this is called the anthropic principle. The universe is finite in age and size and is heading toward a "heat death" due to the second law of thermodynamics, also known as entropy and decay. See Space-Time page See Time page See Universe/ Earth's age page. See Decay page See Life page See Laws of physics page See Are We Alone page See Creation model page See History of the Universe page See Why so Vast page See Why so Dark page See Relativity page
volatiles: Readily vaporizable at a relatively low temperature. Quickly evaporating liquids
volcanism: Volcanic action or activity. The eruption of molten rock (magma) onto a planet's surface forms lava flows.
worldview: is the comprehensive framework of beliefs, attitudes, and values through which an individual interprets, understands, and interacts with the world. It acts as a mental filter—shaped by experience, culture, and education—that dictates how people make decisions, define reality, and determine purpose in life. See worldviews page and See You worldview page