Scientific Words

The advance if science has for a hundred years or more been so rapid that neither English nor all the language of Europe could supply sufficient words for its need. In this task of word creation the scientist has always tuned to the language of Greece, or Rome, and still does so. Almost all scientific words are of Latin and Greek origin.

The word “physics” comes from a Greek word meaning “knowledge of nature". Physics studies and explains various non-living things, their behavior and phenomena of nature.

It is well known that after M. Faraday had finished his basic researches on the phenomena of electrolysis, he asked a professor at Cambridge to look for suitable words with which to describe his results, and in 1833 the now familiar terms “anode” and “cathode” came into existence in this way. These terms come from the Greek words “anion” and “cation” meaning “up” and “down”.

The word “magnet” takes its name from the town of Magnesia in Asia Minor where the pieces of magnetic rock were first found.

It will be good to know that the word “atom” is a wrong name for the smallest things of which everything is made in nature. The word “atom” is of Greek origin and it means “indivisible” as the Greeks thought that the atom couldn’t be split (divided). Only in the present century was it discovered that the atom is built up of still tinier particles called electrons, protons and neutrons.

Have you heard of cryogenics? It is the studying of the behavior of substances at law temperatures. It was discovered that at very low temperatures the properties of materials change in surprising and sometimes unusual ways. The word “cryos” is also of Greek origin. It means “icy cold” .

Plasma- the Fourth State of Matter

Plasma is the fourth state of matter. It is neither solid, liquid nor gas. In plasma all the atoms are ionized, which makes it very conductive. The temperature of plasma is several million degree and the density is many billions of electrons per cubic centimeter.

The simplest type of plasma can be produced by striking a match. The little yellow flame is plasma. Plasma need not necessarily be associated with high temperatures. The glow of a highly rarefied gas in a fluorescent tube is also due to plasma, yet the tube is hardly warm to the touch. Although probably more than 99.9 per cent of matter in our universe is in the plasma state. On our dense and cold planet plasma cannot be found easily. It has to be generated by special physical processes and under special conditions.

Plasma may help to solve the problem of controlled thermonuclear reactions, though it lives for only one ten millionth of a second. Plasma of this kind was produced by a Russian scientist Professor Prokhorov in his laboratory with the help of a quantum generator. A very powerful Ruby Laser focused with the help of a lens was used. The air in the focus area becomes completely ionized and the plasma obtained is immediately heated to high temperatures by the laser beam. This operation is accompanied by a small lightning flash and a thunderlike noise. Plasma may be used in rockets flying from planet to planet.Yantar-1 launched in the atmosphere layers was propelled by a gas- plasma engine.

Plasma has a great future for science, engineering and everyday life.