Pink Noise - Leonid Korogodski [62]
It got its name from the Isicamtho word for “cool.” Isicamtho is a new language with roots in the gangster subculture that developed from an amalgam of many African languages spoken in South Africa, as well as English and Afrikaans; the grammatical matrix is mainly Zulu and Sotho. Though not officially recognized, Isicamtho is the first language of many young South Africans.
Kwaito became especially prominent during the post-apartheid era, when it became the principal medium of musical self-expression of the young generation. It’s very rhythmic, often rough, and always danceable. There are many good kwaito bands, but the author’s personal favorite is Bongo Maffin.
L
Langmuir waves
A kind of electrostatic wave in plasma, Langmuir wave is a periodic oscillation of electric charge. They can be produced by lasers pushing the electrons on their way through plasma. Langmuir waves are very fast, traveling almost at the speed of light, and can accelerate charged particles that follow in phase with the wave.
laser nanocavity
An important element in photonic networks.
See also photonic network.
layered terrain
A picturesque terrain found in many places on Mars, but primarily in the polar regions where hills are finely terraced over enormous areas. Likely a product of electromagnetic weathering.
See also Cryptic Region.
left hand side wife
Not what you may think!—that is up to each individual family.
The Zulu allow polygamy, even in the Zulu Zionist Christian denominations. In a traditional village, the hut of the first wife is to the right of the main hut; the hut of the second wife is to the left. The third wife is subordinate to the first wife and lives in the next hut on the right. Likewise, the fourth wife is subordinate to the second wife and lives in the next hut on the left. And so on.
Lichtenberg figure
Also known as “electric trees,” Lichtenberg figures are finely branching shapes that form on the surface or in the interior of non-conducting materials as a product of dielectric breakdown in the process called electric treeing.
See also Martian spider.
lightning flower
See Lichtenberg figure.
long memory effect
Dependence of a system’s behavior not only on the current state but also on its history, on the particular path taken to arrive at the current state. Long memory effect is a characteristic feature of complex adaptive systems.
Lough-an-Leagh
A lake by its namesake mountain in Ireland, Lough-an-Leagh is the “Lake of Healing” in Irish folklore. Its dark mud reputedly has many healing properties.
lucid dream
A state of consciousness experienced during sleep. It differs from ordinary dream in that the person is aware he or she is dreaming.
M
magnetic field of Mars
Although today Mars has no planetary magnetic field, there are many local magnetic anomalies, possibly the remains of the ancient planetary magnetic field. Most are found in the southern hemisphere. The strongest anomalies stretch in latitudinal bands across the 180° meridian, the southernmost not far from the south polar region.
magnetic sail
A long, closed loop of superconducting wire, also known as magsail. The magnetic field generated by the electric current in the loop deflects the solar wind’s charged particles, creating a propulsive force in the opposite direction.
Magnetic sails are radically different from—and vastly superior to—solar sails, which are pushed by radiation pressure. Magsails slide sideways, except in one configuration when a magsail is strictly perpendicular to the solar wind (but this is difficult to maintain and untypical of magsail navigation). Unlike solar sails, magnetic sails provide an unprecedented degree of maneuverability.
See also right-hand rule.
magnetopause
The narrow boundary between the solar wind and a planetary magnetosphere (or plasmasphere, in the absence of magnetic field). A double layer always forms in the magnetopause.
See also double layer and solar wind.
magnetorheological material
Similar to ferrofluid,