Physics acronyms & abbreviations
(1) AC
Alternating Current
(2) CRT
Cathode Ray Tube
(3) DC
Direct Current
(4) IR
Infra-Red
(5) LASER Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission
Radiation
(6)
MASER
an electric current that regularly reverses
direction; current delivered to homes and
businesses
emits a stream of electrons from a cathode in
a vacuum tube; main component in older
computer monitors
electric current that flows in only one
direction; produced by batteries and
appliance transformers
radiation that is lower energy than red light
a device that emits a highly focused beam of
single wavelength radiation; used in
numerous electronics devices (CD, DVD,
scanners, etc)
a device used in radar and radio astronomy
to boost the strength of microwaves
(7) Quasar
Microwave Amplification
by Stimulated Emission
Radiation
QUASi-stellAR
(8) Rf
Radio Frequency
(9) EM
(10) UHF
(11) UV
ElectroMagnetic
Ultra High Frequency
UltraViolet
(12) VHF
Very High Frequency
radio frequency that is higher than the normal
broadcast zone
(13) WIMP
(14) parsec
Weakly Interacting
Massive Particle
PARallax SECond
(15) VOM
Volt-Ohm Milliameter
theorized form of dark matter thought to
compose much of the matter in the universe
a unit of measure for interstellar space equal
to the distance of an object having a parallax
of one second; 326 light-years
a mulitmeter used to measure potential
(volts), resistance (ohms) and other features.
Chemistry acronyms and abbreviations
(1) ACS
American Chemical
Society
(2) alnico
ALuminum + NIckel +
Cobalt
(3) canola
CANada Oil + Low Acid
a class of celestial objects that resemble
stars; deep space objects that emit huge
amount of energy
any frequency between 10kHz and 300 kHz;
used for radio and TV transmission
created by or relating to electromagnetism
radio frequency that is higher than VHF
electromagnetic radiation that is more
energetic than violet light
professional society of chemists
a powerful permanent-magnet alloy containing
iron, nickel, aluminum, and one or more of the
elements cobalt, copper, and titanium
a type of rapeseed plant that yields a low acid, high
(4) CFC
Chloro-FluoroCarbon
(5) CO
Carbon monoxide
(6) DDT
DichloroDiphenylTrichlor
oethane
Material Safety Data Sheet
(7) MSDS
(8) MTBE
(9) OSHA
Methyl Tertiary Butyl
Ether
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
(10) PVC
PolyVinyl Chloride
(11) PPM
Parts Per Milllion
(12) PSI
(13) R&D
Pounds per Square Inch
Research and Development
(14) redox
REDuction + Oxidation
(15) smog
Smoke + Fog
nutritional value oil
gas contatining carbon, hyudrogen and fluorine;
used as a refrigerant; known to breakdown ozone
gas with a molecule made of one carbon and one
oxygen. it is a toxic substance in car exhaust and
cigarette smoke
a chemical used to kill mosquitos that became a
major environmental pollutant
a safety information sheet that accompanies
chemicals sold in America
a gasoline additive that is supposed to make gas
burn cleaner; health hazard
a federal organization that oversees health and
safety conditions in schools, laboratories, and the
workplace
a hard vinyl chloride polymer; used in flooring,
piping and clothing
a measure of the concentration of pollutants and
other substances in a gas or liquid
a customary measure of pressure
the process in which industry engages in to
produce new products
a reaction in which one substance is oxidized while
another is reduced
air pollution resulting from the mixture of smoke
an fog; now includes all types of air pollution
Geoscience Acronyms
(1) EPA
Environmental Protection
Agency
(2) GEOS
Geodetic and Earth
Orbiting Satellite
Greenich Mean
TimeGMT
(3) GMT
(4) GPS
(5) JPL
(6) NGS
(7) NOAA
federal agency charged with monitoring the
environment
satellite for making precise measurement of
the Earth’s surface
name for mean solar time of the longitude
(0°) of the former Royal Observatory at
Greenwich, Eng
Global Positioning
A system of satellites that transmit signals
System
used to determine one’s precise position
Jet Propulsion
center for US unmanned space mission;
Laboratory
originally a laboratory for developing and
testing rocket and jet propulsion
National Geodetic Survey survey to determine and publish latitude,
longitude, elevation and gravity data
National Oceanic and
organization to provide details on weather,
Atmospheric
oceans, satellites, fisheries, climate,
Administration
navigation, and coasts
(8) NRAO
(9) NSF
(10) NWS
(11) Radar
(12) Scuba
(13) Sonar
(14) USGS
(15) UTC
National Radio
Astronomy Observatory
National Science
Foundation
NRAO operates powerful, advanced radio
telescopes spanning the western hemisphere
US agency to support basic research and
education in sciences, mathematics and
engineering
National Weather Service US agency for predicting and reporting
weather conditions throughout the United
States
Radar RAdio Detection
locating and tracking objects by transmitting
And Ranging
electromagnetic energy and observing the
echoes
Self-Contained
an apparatus with a portable air supply used
Underwater Breathing
for breathing while swimming underwater
Apparatus
SOund Navigation And
Technology for locating objects by means of
Ranging
reflected sound waves
United States Geological Federal agency for gathering and sharing
Survey
information about the Earth’s resources,
natural hazards, and environment
Universal Time
International basis of civil and scientific time,
Coordinated
implemented in 1964
Biology Acronyms and Abbreviations
(1) AIDS
Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome
(2) BAL
Blood alcohol level
(3) CDC
Center for Disease
Control
(4) CPR
CardioPulmonary
Resuscitation
(5) CVA
Cerebro Vascular
Accident
(6) ECG
ElectroCardioGram
(7) GI
GastroIntestinal
(8) LD50
Lethal Dose (50%)
(9) LDL
Low Density Lipoprotein
a disease of the immune system caused by
infection with the retrovirus HIV
the amount of alcohol in your blood stream
recorded as milligrams of alcohol per 100
milliliters of blood
federal agency for protecting the health and
safer of individuals, providing information to
assist making health decisions
emergency procedure designed to restore
normal breathing and circulation after such
traumas as cardiac arrest and drowning
impairment of brain function due to
substantial reduction in blood flow or
bleeding in the brain
trace of the electric current generated by the
hearth muscle; also known as ekg
pertaining to digestive tract, particularly the
stomach and intestines
the dosage of a substance at which 50% of
the test animals die; measure of toxicity
“bad” cholesterol that can slowly build on
(10) MRI
Magnetic Resonance
Imaging
(11) PCR
Polymerase Chain
Reaction
(12) RBC
Red Blood Cell
(13) REM
Rapid Eye Movement
(14) RNA
RiboNucleic Acid
(15) TB
TuBerculosis
walls of arteries contributing to
atherosclerosis
imaging technique used to produce images of
the inside of the body based upon the
resonance of electrons in hydrogen atoms
technique used to make numerous copies of a
specific segment of DNA quickly and
accurately
oxygen-carrying cell in the blood stream;
erythrocyte
a stage of sleep characterized by rapid
movement of the eyes
a nucleic acid containing ribose and essential
for the manufacture of proteins
infectious disease caused by several species
of tubercle bacillus bacteria