buckyballs
Aka fullerenes. Aka Buckminister fullerenes. Carbon molecules composed of beautifully arranged carbon atoms. The most familiar buckyball has a sort of soccer ball like lattice. Buckyballs have exceptional properties, such as high strength and high friction reduction. Buckyballs are named after Buckminister Fuller, the inventor of the geodesic dome.
chirality
(1) "Of or relating to the structural characteristic of a molecule that makes it impossible to superimpose it on its mirror image."

(2) Related to the first definition, this term is used to describe the symmetry of how sheets lay. EG: Fabric with even chirality will lay flat and will form rectangles if cut evenly. In contrast, fabric with uneven chirality will not lay flat and will form diamond shapes if cut evenly.
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)
An endogenous psychedelic tryptamine. DMT is naturally created by the pineal gland in the depths of the human brain. DMT may be responsible for seemingly mystical experiences such as dreaming, near-death experiences, encounters with divine beings, etc..
fuel cells
Fuel Cells are electrochemical devices that convert a fuel's energy directly to electrical energy. Fuel cells operate much like continuous batteries when supplied with fuel to the anode (negative electrode) and oxidant (eg air) to the cathode (positive electrode). Fuel cells forgo the traditional extraction of energy in the form of combustion heat, conversion of heat energy to mechanical energy (as with a turbine), and finally turning mechanical energy into electricity (eg using a dynamo). Instead, fuel cells chemically combine the molecules of a fuel and oxidizer without burning, dispensing with the inefficiencies and pollution of traditional combustion. Fuel cells have ultra-low NOx, SOx, CO, hydrocarbon, and noise emissions.
    fuel    air
  |  ||  |  ||  |  
  |  ||  |  ||  |
  |  \/  |  \/  |
  |      |      |
anode  proton   cathode
       exchange
       membrane

Result: electricity + water (as exhaust)

IQ

Intelligence Quotient. A person's mental age divided by their chronological age and then multiplied by 100 to eliminate most of the decimals. EG: Fred tests out as having the mental capacity of an average 10 year old. If Fred is 10 years old, then his IQ is 100. If Fred is 15 years old, then his IQ is 75. If Fred is 8 years old, then his IQ is 125.

Later versions of IQ testing has tests which get the mental age for age ranges. An average person of a particular age range would score 100. Personally I think "intelligence" is hard to define and measure without bias. I like the recent popular theory that there are 7+ different kinds of intelligences. Howard Gardner developed a list of measurable kinds of intelligences:

  • Linguistic
  • Logical-mathematical
  • Musical
  • Spatial
  • Bodily kinesthetic
  • Interpersonal
  • Intrapersonal
  • Naturalistic
nanotechnology
The science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules. A related word is NEMS (nano-electro-mechanical systems)
nocebo
Antonym for placebo.
Pangea
The single continent on Earth before the modern day continents drifted apart ca. 200 million years BC. 
Yucatan Peninsula
A peninsula in Mexico where an asteroid landed 65 million years BC. This asteroid caused a mass extinction, including, most notably, the dinosaurs.

2007-10-29 18:29:09Z