Appendix F — Glossary

~100 terms, alphabetical. Chapter references point to first substantive use.

Term	Definition	Ch
Alloy	Metal deliberately mixed with other elements for property control	10
Amortization	Spreading an asset's cost over its useful life in accounts	47
Annealing	Heating and slow cooling to soften metal and relieve stress	14
Antifragility	Property of gaining strength from stressors rather than merely surviving them	47
Arbitrage	Profiting from price differences of the same asset across markets	9
Armature	Rotating coil assembly of a motor/generator	26
Band gap	Energy range electrons can't occupy; separates conductors/semiconductors/insulators	35
Baseload	Minimum continuous power demand a grid must always supply	43
Bellows	Collapsible air pump forcing draft into fires/furnaces	1
Bessemer process	Steelmaking by blowing air through molten pig iron to burn out carbon	27
Bloomery	Furnace producing spongy iron bloom below iron's melting point	14
Bond (finance)	Tradeable debt instrument paying interest over fixed term	47
Capacitance	Charge stored per volt across plates; Leyden jar property	25
Carnot efficiency	Maximum heat-engine efficiency: 1 − T_cold/T_hot	23
Catalyst	Substance accelerating reactions without being consumed	28
Clinker	Fused cement-kiln product ground into Portland cement	27
Collateral	Asset pledged against loan default	9
Commutator	Rotating switch converting generator AC output to DC	26
Containerization	Standardized freight boxes enabling mechanical intermodal handling	47
Criticality (k=1)	Chain reaction exactly sustaining neutron population; reactor steady state	37
Crosslinking	Chemical bonds joining polymer chains into permanent networks	38
Crucible	Ceramic vessel holding metal during melting/refining	10
Decarburization	Removing carbon from iron surface/melt toward steel chemistry	22
Delta-v (Δv)	Total velocity change a rocket can produce; orbital budget currency	39
Dielectric	Insulating material between capacitor plates storing field energy	25
Dispersion (optics)	Refraction varying by wavelength; causes chromatic aberration	19
Doping	Adding trace impurities to semiconductors to set carrier type/density	35
Double-entry bookkeeping	Recording each transaction twice so books must balance by construction	47
Eddy currents	Circulating currents induced in conductors by changing magnetic fields	26
Endothermic/exothermic	Reaction absorbing/releasing heat	17
Enthalpy	Heat content at constant pressure; steam-table workhorse property	23
Equilibrium (chemical)	Forward/reverse reaction rates balancing; Haber-Bosch yield limiter	32
Eutectic	Alloy composition with lowest melting point of the mixture family	18
Externality	Cost/benefit of activity falling on parties not party to it (pollution classic)	47
Fermentation	Microbial conversion of sugars to alcohol/acids/CO₂	4
Flux	Additive cleaning melts or promoting fusion (welding/soldering/smelting)	14
Fractional distillation	Separating liquid mixtures by boiling-point fractionation in columns	28
Frequency response	System output behavior across input frequencies; filter/amplifier spec	34
Futures contract	Agreement to trade an asset at set price/date; hedging tool	47
Gear train	Meshed gear sets transmitting exact speed/torque ratios	15
Germ theory	Specific microbes cause specific diseases; sanitation's foundation	30
Haber-Bosch	High-pressure catalytic ammonia synthesis breaking agriculture's nitrogen wall	32
Half-life	Time for half of radioactive material to decay	37
Induction (electromagnetic)	Changing magnetic flux inducing current in nearby circuits	25
Insolation	Solar power arriving per unit area; PV sizing input	43
Isotope	Atoms of same element with different neutron counts/masses	37
Kerogen	Solid organic matter in source rocks; petroleum's precursor	28
Latent heat	Energy absorbed/released at phase change without temperature change	23
Lignin	Wood polymer causing pulp acidity/yellowing if not removed	18
Liquidity	Ease of converting assets to cash without value loss	9
Martensite	Hard steel microstructure formed by rapid quenching	14
Metrology	Science of measurement standards and calibration chains	20
Modulus of elasticity	Stiffness measure: stress/strain in elastic region	27
Mordant	Fixative binding dyes to fibers	3
Moral hazard	Risk-taking increases when actors are shielded from consequences	47
Nitriding	Case-hardening steel via nitrogen diffusion for wear resistance	14
Ohm's law	V = I·R; voltage equals current times resistance	25
Opportunity cost	Value of best alternative foregone by any choice	12
Oxidation-reduction	Electron-transfer reaction pair; smelting/combustion/respiration all examples	21
pH	Acidity/alkalinity logarithmic scale	21
Photolithography	Light-through-mask pattern transfer defining semiconductor layers	35
Piezoelectric	Materials generating charge under mechanical stress (and reverse)	45
Planar process	Oxide-passivated, photolithographically patterned transistor fabrication	35
Polarization (batteries)	Gas buildup degrading cell output under load	25
Polymerization	Monomers chaining into macromolecules	38
Positional notation	Digit values depending on place; zero as placeholder enables algorithms	12
Pozzolana	Volcanic ash reacting with lime for water-setting concrete	17
Pre-stressed concrete	Concrete compressed via tensioned cables before service loads arrive	27
Principal-agent problem	Incentive misalignment between delegators and delegates	47
Pyrometallurgy	Heat-based metal extraction/refinement	13
Quenching	Rapid cooling hardening steel by trapping martensite	14
Rankine cycle	Idealized steam power-plant thermodynamic cycle	23
Recombinant DNA	Splicing DNA segments into vectors for replication/expression	44
Refractory	Heat-resistant furnace lining material	22
Regenerative braking	Recovering deceleration energy electrically instead of wasting as heat	29
Reinforcement ratio	Steel area ÷ concrete area governing beam design	27
Residual magnetism	Remnant magnetization enabling generator self-excitation	26
Rent-seeking	Extracting wealth via gatekeeping rather than production	47
Reverberatory furnace	Flame passes OVER hearth separating fuel from charge	22
RTG	Radioisotope thermoelectric generator powering deep-space craft	40
Salinization	Salt accumulation ruining irrigated soils; Mesopotamia's killer	7
Sintering	Powder particles fusing below melting point under heat/pressure	37
Slag	Molten waste rock skimmed/tapped from smelts	10
Sunk cost	Already-spent resources irrelevant to forward-looking decisions	12
Superalloy	Nickel/cobalt alloys retaining strength near melting; jet turbine enabler	33
TCP/IP	Layered internet protocol suite; end-to-end principle embodiment	42
Tempering	Reheating hardened steel to trade hardness for toughness	14
Tensile strength	Maximum pulling stress before failure	2
Thermocouple	Two dissimilar metals reading temperature via generated voltage	20
Transformer	Static device transforming AC voltage up/down via coupled coils	26
Trilateration	Position solving from distances to known points; GPS method	40
Tuyère	Nozzle delivering bellows air into furnaces	14
Vapor pressure	Pressure exerted by evaporating liquid; distillation driver	17
Watt	Power unit: joules/second	16
Work hardening	Strengthening metal through plastic deformation	10
Yield point	Stress where permanent deformation begins	27
Young's modulus	Elastic stiffness coefficient of materials	27
Zero (placeholder)	Positional notation's enabling digit; arithmetic algorithm unlocker	12