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Dictionary of Scientific Principles DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES Stephen Marvin West Chester University »WILEY JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC., PUBLICATION Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Ill River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Dictionary of scientific principles / by Stephen Marvin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-470-14680-4 (cloth) 1. Science-Dictionaries. I. Marvin, Stephen. Q123.D537 2010 503-dc22 2010003426 Printed in Singapore 10 98765432 1 To E. E. Barnes, with long overdue thanks for sharing ideas, concepts, and challenges in the way we seek and organize information CONTENTS Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Notes to the Reader xiii Principles—Definitions 1 Principles—Applications 481 PREFACE The Dictionary of Scientific Principles is an sources or available content definitions from attempt to compile the language of art used patent files. for various known rules or laws applied to The Dictionary of Scientific Principles was a broad category of topics, including mathe- prepared to provide information about ba- matics, medicine, sciences, psychology, man- sic fundamental properties, systems, activi- agement, and even philosophy and art. This ties, or phenomena that have become terms project has taken over 6 years to develop in common use, including eponyms, among to this point. I have consulted with scientists various fields of study. It provides a brief and colleagues on the development of this dic- description of the individual principle, a vari- tionary and had some help in organizing the ety of definitions applied to the principle, and files from an MS Excel spreadsheet. There are alternate names used to describe the princi- approximately 2000 + principles that form ple in "see also" attachments to the name, the language of art. Some are rewording of with definitions of over 2000 terms, both cur- the same principle; For instance, the princi- rent and historical. About 85% of these terms ple of maximum entropy is also listed as the cannot be found in any other source such as maximum entropy principle. I exerted a great dictionaries, encyclopedias, or other collected deal of effort to have this work prepared in printed (hardcopy) or electronic works. The time for the new millennium and to call it footnoted references are included to help the Millennial Principles. However, the myriad reader find further in-depth information as new discoveries in scientific and other disci- needed. The Dictionary of Scientific Princi- plines necessitated the continual addition of ples neither attempts nor intends to exhaust new entries and cross-references to similar- the entire spectrum of meaning and potential context or related entries already listed in intention with historical connections for each this volume. In creating this dictionary, I principle. consulted many encyclopedias, dictionaries, The principles included may be fac- books, indexes, and journal articles. There tual, historical, fictitious, or comical. Ab- is no single source containing the breadth of breviations are included [e.g., TNSTAAFL coverage of all principles listed in this work. principle]. Some surname-based eponyms The references listed in footnotes are some of containing the term law, (e.g., Newton's law), the many resources that I consulted. I hope are also described as Newton's principle and that this will be an ongoing project, in order thus are included. that new principles may be added in future Principles have been included regardless editions or enhancements can be made in the of their frequency of use or the manner in applications listed. Many of the entries in this which they were created. The polyuronid dictionary are excerpts from journal articles, principle, for example, was found in only summaries from other literature sources, or one single reference. Occasionally, names information obtained from unique Internet are in formative or transitional stages of PREFACE development, which legitimately justifies the whom something is named) and a generic compiler's reasons for assigning different term. The eponym need not contain the per- names to the same or very similar principles. son's real name (e.g., the Dilbert principle); a The inclusion of a name as part of a term in pseudonym can become an eponym, such as no way depends on how well the person is or the Tinkerbell principle. Names may appear was known at the time, nor does it mean that in multiple forms and they are included with this person will become well known in the fu- cross-reference's to alternate forms including ture because of the principle with which she spelling variations. Associating names with or he may be affiliated or associated. Many of specific individuals is often difficult since the the principles include names of famous per- names are coined not by the persons who sons, while a very large number include the first described the concept but by someone names of people who were modest practition- else, often many years later. ers of their trades and who lived and died in The entries in this Dictionary of Scientific anonymity. Such people could not be included Principles are arranged in alphabetic order in professional and membership directories, with cross-references to alternate terms ap- biographical listings, or national newspaper plied. The listing depends on the manner in obituaries. Biographical information, as ex- which the principle was described. For a hy- plained earlier, for many of the principles, pothetical example, the term principle ofXYZ is incomplete. Selection was made to include and its variation, XYZ principle, are both and focus on the principle, not the individual listed. Only usage dictates whether the name for whom it was named. Literary, histori- includes a possessive "s" (e.g., Einstein's cal, and mythological names are included. theory of relativity). Principles containing Many of the biographical resources on these more than one personal (e.g., Borwein-Price names can be found in commonly available principle) name are followed by brief bio- biographical sources. graphic notes regarding the people in the A surname-based eponym contains both a order to in which their names appear in the proper noun (the name of the person after term. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank my wife for being so support- and was a delightful tenacious supporter. She ive in encouraging me to continue. I want leaves to mourn, apart from her library fam- to thank my children for their interest and ily, her husband Oliver and four children, her of apparent understanding my need to sac- mother and two sisters. A qualified engineer, rifice some of our time together while this University of Hong Kong and holder of B.Sc work was being completed. I wish to also Math/Physics from the University of the West thank Samantha Richardson for many pa- Indies, and Fulbright—LASPAU scholar, she tient days of editing and correcting spelling served as the subject specialist for the Engi- errors. Tracie Meloy helped with with orga- neering and Physicial Sciences Division. She nizing many text records into a single stan- received her M.L.S. from the University at dard format. I must thank many members Buffalo, State University of New York and of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Special continued to serve the UWI and the Library Library Association for their encouragement. with distinction. Her memorial service was I have to thank Barbara and Bruce, who held at the St. Stephen's Anglican Church, thought I was crazy but persistent. I must High Street Princes with burial at the St. thank the various companies who provided Nicholas Churchyard Cemetery. additional support, including the Dialog Cor- I envy Gregory D. Mahlon, Science and poration, NewsNet, MNIS and Telebase. I Technology librarian, Penn State Mont Alto, would like to express special appreciation for Mont Alto, PA 17237-9799 and his steady, support and encouragement from friends at consistent, and well organized deliberations, Penn State University Great Valley campus comments, and humor regarding this project.
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