Pink Noise - Leonid Korogodski [56]
The eyes do see, and the brain processes the signals, but the patient doesn’t have a conscious access to that information.
blueberries, Martian
Small blueish-gray spherules found peppering the surface in many locations on Mars. Most are about the size of a pea, of various shapes, from round balls to hollow cylinders, but most of them have an axis of rotation. The closest Earth analog is the Moqui balls in Utah.
butterfly wing
A kind of mast on magsail ships of the frigate class.
See also magnetic sail.
C
checksum
In computing and communications, a number or other kind of data generated from a larger body of data such that if the original data is tampered with, the checksum computed once again would differ from the original checksum. Thus, one can detect intrusion and try to recover the unspoiled data, if possible.
Chekavar [MALAYALAM: ]
A subcaste of the Ellava, aka Thiyya, a human caste in Kerala, South India. Chekavar men were brought up to fight in the ankam, duels to the death, as champions of the disputing parties that were members of higher castes. Chekavar fighters practiced the South Indian martial art of kalari payyatt, the art of vital points.
See also ankam and kalarippayatt.
Sydenham’s chorea is also known as St. Vitus’ Dance.
choreoathetosis
A combination of chorea and athetosis. Chorea is a neurological condition characterized by involuntary, irregular muscle contractions that are not rhythmic but appear to flow from one muscle to the next. The movements caused by these contractions have a dancelike quality, which is why they were called “chorea”—from “choreography.” Athetosis also adds involuntary jerky, writhing movements.
collagen
The main protein component of the connective tissue in animals. Fibers of collagen are very strong, which is why it is found in skin, bone, ligaments, tendons, and other places where a good tensile strength is necessary. Together with keratin, it gives skin its strength and elasticity. Degradation of collagen is the cause of age wrinkles.
See also keratin.
conjunction, planetary
An astronomical event when two or more planets are arranged along the same line with the Sun. For any pair of planets from the set, the conjunction is called inferior if the planets are on the same side from the Sun along that line, and superior if they are opposite.
coulage
A technique in surrealistic art where a sculpture is produced by pouring molten wax—or other suitable material, like chocolate—into cold water. Not to be confused with collage.
Cryptic Region
One of the most beautiful places on Mars. This large area near the south pole was called Cryptic for it mysteriously darkens early in the southern spring, while the rest of the polar cap stays bright, still covered with ice (see the albedo—brightness—map on page 6).
ADVANCED: Abiogenic petroleum could have formed by the Plausson process, driven by the relativistic Weibel instability.
The darkening is caused by the so-called “dalmatian spots,” dark splotches with fan-like extensions. These are made by jets of dark material shooting from beneath the ice as soon as it begins to melt—possibly, a mix of frozen carbon dioxide and petroleum.
Some of the ice is melted by the Sun, when it appears after the long polar night. But some is melted by the energetic solar particles that, passing through thin atmosphere, strike the ice in curtains of magnetic field-aligned electric current filaments, leaving characteristic patterns in the ice.
Thanks to its eccentric—that is, elongated—orbit in the Sun’s radial electric field, Mars passes through areas of rapidly changing potential in the southern spring, so the process intensifies. Its high eccentricity makes Mars susceptible to electromagnetic weathering.
D
dalmatian spots, on Mars
See Cryptic Region.
decapitation game
The same motif is found in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an Arthurian tale.
A common theme in ancient Celtic myths. A mysterious man offers three