Pink Noise - Leonid Korogodski [63]
See also ferrofluid.
magnetotail
See plasmatail.
mana
A staple of wizard-and-sorcery games, mana is a quantity necessary to cast spells. A spell typically requires the player to spend a certain amount of mana, which is replenished with time.
Martian spider
A peculiar fixture of the Martian terrain in the south polar region, Martian spiders are radially branching networks of channels in the surface, in some ways similar to Lichtenberg figures produced by the process called electric treeing. Also known as Arthur Clarke’s trees.
See also Cryptic Region and Lichtenberg figure.
Mentor
In the Dungeon Keeper series of games, the Mentor is a cyber-assistant to the keeper. His advice can be very helpful when learning the ropes. And he has a certain sense of humor. The same cannot be said about the Gilles’ Mentor in the story.
See also Dungeon Keeper.
metamaterial
A material whose properties depend not so much on what it’s made of but on its internal artificially engineered structure. Metamaterials can exhibit properties not readily found in nature. Thus, the socalled left-handed metamaterials refract light in the “wrong” way, as shown by the diagram on page 68. Metamaterials are also used in photonic networks, “invisibility cloaks,” and other applications.
See also laser nanocavity, polaritonic cloak, and superlens.
mini-magnetospheric anti-plasma shield
A strong magnetic field that deflects charged particles away from the protected area.
mitochondria
An important part of the biological cell’s structure. It is in the mitochondria that atp, the energy currency of life, is produced.
multiple redundancy
The principle of having numerous backups on standby to replace a failing unit.
mudra
A symbolic gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism, often as part of a ritual. In Pink Noise, the word is used in a more specific way—the stylized hand gestures in bharatanatyam, a classical dance of India. From these expressive gestures, also known as hastas, an intuitive vocabulary for the Dragon Guard’s fighting dance with Dragonclaws was developed, reducing the calculation load for coordinating the movement of the laser beams.
N
nanotorus, pl.nanotori
A nanoparticle in the shape of a torus. Nanotori are famous for their predicted ability to store a substantial magnetic moment. None have been produced yet, to the best of the author’s knowledge.
Nguni
The common ancestors of Zulu and Xhosa, who migrated into Southern Africa around the 4th century ad.
nhliziyo [Zulu]
Usually translated as “heart,” this word actually stands for an area of the throat that traditionally is considered the seat of emotions in the Zulu culture, as the heart is in the West.
O
Occam’s Razor
ENTIA NON SUNT MULTIPLICANDA PRAETER NECESSITATEM. Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.— William of Ockham.
Formulated by William of Ockham (c. 1288–c. 1348), this philosophic principle is often incorrectly paraphrased as “when two theories make the same predictions, the simpler one is to be preferred.” Explaining ufos as alien spaceships is very simple but doesn’t make this “theory” a better choice.
osmosis, osmotic
Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane, with a preferred direction.
overclocking
Increasing the processing power of a computing system by increasing the frequency of its oscillations. In modern computers, this is usually applied to the cpu and gpu frequencies. Although the brain has no master clock, some brainwaves can be accelerated pharmaceutically for brief periods of time.
P
parahuman
A human whose brain is augmented with a digital component. Although the established term “cyborg” is applicable, it feels dehumanizing, as if the cyber is instead of the human and not in addition to it. The author wished to place the emphasis on the human.
paramagnetic
If a material only becomes a magnet in the presence