F
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F Layer
The F Layer is a region of the ionised gas in the ionosphere, often known as
the Appleton Layer. It is the most important layer from the point of view of
long-distance radio communications.
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a socialist association founded in London in 1883 which
aims at the reorganisation of society by the emancipation of land and capital
from individual and class ownership, and the vesting of them in the community
for the general benefit.
Fabliau
Fabliau is a form of early French literature consisting of short versified
tales, comic in spirit and intended primarily for recitation. They were mainly
written between the 12th and 14th centuries in northern France, and caricature
every subject, but particularly women.
Faeces
Faeces is the term applied to egested food.
Fairlop Oak
The Fairlop Oak was a 500 year old oak tree with a trunk 14 meters in
circumference in Hainault forest, Essex. Beneath its branches an annual fair
was long held on the first Friday in July. It was blown down in 1820.
Fallow
Fallow is land left unsown for a period, usually a year. Fallowing is an
ancient process, it has been known for centuries that the same crop frown on
the same land deteriorates after a few years, partly because the soil is
exhausted and partly because of disease. By leaving the land for a year, it can
recover and subsequent crops improve.
Fan Tan
see "Sevens"
Fandango
The fandango is a Spanish dance involving lively movements accompanied by the
chatter of castanets, snapping of fingers, and stamping of feet.
Fantan
Fantan is a Chinese gambling game, in which bets are made on any corner of a
rectangular card, with numbered corners. When bets have been made the banker
places on the table a head of counters and divides them into fours. The winning
number is decided by the number of counters in the last batch; if one counter
is left over, number one wins, if 2 number 2 and so on. Fantan is a gambling
card game for any number of players, played with a full deck of 52 cards.
Fantasia
In music, a fantasia is a more or less impromptu composition bound by no formal
rules.
Fantoccini
Fantoccini was a puppet play popular in Italy in the 15th century and in
England and Germany in the 18th century.
Farad
The farad is the unit of measurement of electrical capacitance. A capacitor has
a capacitance of one farad if a quantity of one coulomb has to be imparted to
it in order to raise the potential difference between the plates by one volt.
More convenient units for small capacitances are the microfarad and the
picofarad.
Faraday Cage
The Faraday cage is an earthed metallic wire or gauze screen enclosing
electrical equipment to shield it from the influence of external electric
fields.
Faraday Screen
A Faraday screen is an earthed wire screen placed in an equipment so as to
prevent electrostatic but not electromagnetic coupling between components.
Faradisation
Faradisation is the medical application of electro-magnetic fields, named after
Faraday who discovered such fields in 1837.
Faro
Faro is an old gambling card game, possibly of Italian origin.
Farthingale
A farthingale was a hoop made of whalebone or wood and used in its most extreme
form in the 17th century as a support for widespreading skirts. The farthingale
originated in Spain and was the precursor of the crinoline.
Fasces
Fasces were bundles of wooden rods made of elm or birch strapped together with
an axe whose head protruded at right angles from the sticks. The fasces
symbolised the authority of the senior magistrates of ancient Rome and were
carried by the lictors who preceded them.
Fascism
Fascism is a political movement which originated in Italy, deriving its name
from fasces, and which holds that the individual exists for the State, to whose
good all his work and interests should be directed. Fascism originated in Milan
in 1919, as a movement started by Benito Musolini.
Fathom
Fathom is a nautical measurement, being two metres.
Fatty acid
A fatty acid is an organic hydrocarbon with a carboxyl group at one end.
Feast of Circumcision
The Feast of Circumcision was a Roman Catholic festival celebrated on January
the 1st in honour of the circumcision of Christ, and in opposition to the pagan
feast of Janus held on the same day. Whereas the pagan festival was celebrated
with feasting, the christian festival was celebrated with fasting.
Feast of Fools
The Feast of Fools was a mediaeval Christian celebration and merry-making.
February
February (named from the Italian Februus) is the second month of the year, in
which were celebrated Februa, feasts on behalf of the manes of deceased persons.
Federal State
A Federal State is a perpetual union of several sovereign States, which has
organs of its own and is invested with powers over the member-States and their
citizens. This direct power over the citizens of its member-States
distinguishes a federate-State from a confederation.
Federation
A federation is a union of States in which the participants retain autonomy in
local matters, while a Central Government determines questions of common
interest.
Feet
Feet is the plural of foot.
Fehling's Solution
Fehling's Solution is a laboratory reagent consisting of a solution containing
copper sulphate, caustic soda and a double tartrate of potassium and sodium
(Rochelle salt). Fehling's solution is used in the laboratory as a method for
the quantitative examination of sugars.
Fell Running
Fell Running is an endurance test for both distance runners and mountaineers,
deriving its name from the hills of northern England where it is mainly
contested.
Felo-de-se
Felo-de-se is latin for a felon with regard to himself, and is an old term
describing someone who commits suicide. Until 1823 it was the practice in
England to bury suicides at a cross-roads with a stake driven through the body,
but a statute of that year directed burial in a churchyard or burial-ground,
without religious service, between the hours of 9pm and midnight. In 1882 both
these restrictions were removed.
Felt
Felt is a fabric which is not woven, but made of fibres, usually wool, which
when subjected to beating and vibration grip one another in the form of layers.
Felucca
A felucca is a fast Mediterranean sailing vessel used chiefly for fishing. It
is long and narrow, with a high bow and large lateen sails.
Fermentation
Fermentation is the breakdown of sugars by bacteria and yeast.
Fermium
Fermium is a man made, radioactive metal element with the symbol Fm. It is
named after Enrico Fermi.
Ferrar's Arrest
In March 1542, George Ferrar, a member of parliament, while in attendance on
the house was taken in execution by a sheriff's officer for debt, and committed
to the Compter prison. The house despatched their serjeant to require his
release, which was resisted, and an affray taking place, his mace was broken.
The house in a body repaired to the lords to complain, when the contempt was
adjudged to be very great, and the punishment of the offenders was referred to
the lower house. On another messenger being sent to the sheriff's by the
commons, they delivered up the senator, and the civil magistrates and the
dreditor were committed to the Tower, the inferior officers to Newgate, and an
act was passed releasing Ferrar from liability for the debt. The king, Henry
VIII, approved of these proceedings and the transaction became the basis of the
rule of parliament which exempts members from arrest.
Ferret
A ferret is a domesticated polecat.
Ferrite-rod Aerial
A ferrite-rod aerial is a receiving aerial consisting of a small coil mounted
on a short rod of magnetic ferrite. The coil is, in effect, a small frame
aerial, and the function of the ferrite rod is to concentrate the magnetic flux
from a large area surrounding the aerial. Like all frame aerials the
ferrite-rod aerial has pronounced directional properties. Its main advantage
however lies in its compact dimensions.
Ferrites
Ferrites are a class of chemical compounds having the general formulae MFe2O4,
where M is a divalent metal. Certain of these compounds are ferromagnetic, and
possess in addition other properties which render them valuable for use in
electric circuit components operating at high frequencies.
Ferrochrome
Ferrochrome is various alloys of iron and chromium employed in the manufacture
of steel.
Ferromagnetic
Ferromagnetic is a term applied to materials such as iron, cobalt, nickel and
certain alloys, which have a magnetic permeability very much greater than unity
and which varies with the strength of the applied field.
Ferrous
Ferrous is a chemistry term referring to materials which contain iron.
Fescennine Verses
The Fescennine Verses were ancient indigenous Roman songs, composed extempore,
and recited at rustic merry-makings, particularly weddings. They were generally
playfully abusive or licentious.
Fibre Optics
Fibre Optics is a technology using light as a digital information bearer. Fibre
optic cables ( light guides ) are a direct replacement for conventional wire,
coaxial cable and many forms of radio, including microwave. Fibre optic lines
actually cost less, occupy less space and provided far more transmission
capacity than earlier methods, while providing superior quality due to virtual
immunity to electrical interference.
Fibroin
Fibroin (Fibrosin) is an albuminoid protein which forms over 50 per cent of
silk.
Fidelio
Fidelio is Beethoven's only opera. It was composed in 1804 and produced at
Vienna in 1805.
FidoNet
FidoNet is a world-wide hobbyist network of personal computers which exchange
mail, discussion groups, and files. It was founded in 1984 and originally
consisting only of IBM PCs and compatibles, FidoNet now includes such diverse
machines as Apple IIs, Ataris, Amigas, and UNIX systems.
Fife
A fife is a small flute originating from Switzerland and used in military bands.
Filbert
The filbert is a nut of the cultivated variety of hazel.
FileMaker II
FileMaker II by Claris, was a database publishing tool that combined file
management and form generation to give impressive visual impact. FileMaker II
supported full font and size control and line and box drawing. It was a good
product for generating business forms and was compatible with Macintosh
networks such as ApphShare and TOPS. FileMaker II could be used to create and
run scripts for automating repetitive jobs such as printing mailing labels and
performing searches. Although FileMaker II was not considered a relational
database, its look-up function gave it some relational attributes that let
users copy data from other files when the key fields matched. Even though
FileMaker II stored all the working records on disk and not in RAM, it searched
database files quickly because each word was automatically indexed. Picture
fields were not indexed. Indexes enhance the speed of searches only not sorts,
so large data fits took some time to complete their sorts.
FileMaker II let you generate professional-quality reports and forms using an
interface similar to MacDraw.
Filigree
Filigree is fine ornamental work of gold or silver wire, closely interlaced.
Fillet
A fillet was a band worn as a head-dress in ancient times. In architecture, a
fillet is a band or listel used as a separation for mouldings.
Filtration
In chemistry, filtration is the process of separating suspended particles from
a liquid by means of a porous medium.
Fin
Fins are expansions of the skin or body wall, or the equivalent of limbs, by
means of which aquatic animals preserve their balance and swim.
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is an Irish political party. It formed in 1921 from Sinn Fein and was
originally known as Cummann na nGaedheal until it changed its name in 1933. It
formed the first government of the Irish Free State.
Fine Reader 4
Fine Reader 4 is an optical character recognition program by Abby Software for
the PC running Windows 95 and Windows NT. Unlike other OCR systems it is very
tolerant of different fonts and has a very high success rate in recognising
text from a wide variety of printed sources, not just modern texts produced
using standard fonts.
Finger
Finger is a computer program that displays a particular user or all users
logged on the system or a remote system. Typically it shows the full name, last
login time, idle time, terminal line, and terminal location (where applicable).
Fire
Fire is the rapid liberation of heat by the chemical combination of various
substances with the oxygen of the air, a process known as combustion.
Fire of London
The Great Fire of London occurred in 1666, starting in Pudding Lane. It was
attributed to be a Catholic plot intended to destroy the Protestant city of
London. A monument to the fire was erected by sir Christopher Wren in 1671 -
1677.
Firedamp
Firedamp is the name given by miners to the explosive mixture of the
hydrocarbon methane with air, which sometimes occurs in coal-mines.
Firkin
The firkin was a British measure equal to 56 lbs for butter and 64 lbs for
soap, and nine gallons of beer.
Fish Kettle
A fish kettle is a large oval-shaped saucepan, usually fitted with a perforated
tray with handles, and used for cooking fish.
Fission
In chemistry, fission is the disintegration of the nucleus of a heavy atom with
the liberation of large amounts of energy.
Five Hundred
Although Five Hundred is now the national card game of Australia, it was
invented in the USA, and promoted by the US Playing Card Company, who
copyrighted the rules in 1904. The game is called 500 because the first team
(or player) to reach a total score of at least 500 points wins. It is an
extension of Euchre, in which the following elements have been added: each
player is dealt 10 cards instead of 5, trump is not turned up, but is chosen by
whoever is willing to contract for the greatest number of tricks; the size of
the pack is adjusted, so that all the cards are dealt to the players except for
a kitty of three cards, which can be used by the highest bidder. From the
outset, special expanded decks with extra pip cards were made to allow the game
to be played by six people. In Australia, 500 is normally played by four
people, two playing against two in fixed partnerships; a similar version of the
game is played in New Zealand. The antipodean four-player versions of 500 will
be described first, followed by versions for other numbers of players. Five
Hundred is still played in North America as well, but the standard American
rules are rather different from the Australian game.
Fjord
A fjord is a long, narrow inlet resulting from the subsidence of a mountainous
coast and the subsequent flooding of the valleys.
Flageolet
The flageolet is an old musical wind instrument, the ancestor of the modern tin
whistle.
Flail
A flail is two pieces of wood joined by a leather thong or short metal chain
and used for threshing. One piece of wood is held and the other then swung.
Flaminian Way
The Flaminian Way was the great road from Rome to Arimium in Umbria, made under
the direction of Flaminius in 221 BC.
Flat-foot
Flat-foot is a deformity of the foot in which the arch sinks so that the whole
extent of the sole is in contact with the ground.
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a famous London Prison which stood in Farringdon Street, on
what was called Fleet Market, from the River Fleet which flowed into the
Thames. Its keeper was called the Warden of the Fleet. As far back as the 12th
century the Fleet served as a Royal Prison. In the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth
I it was used for religious martyrs and the political victims of the Star
Chambers. In 1641 it became a place of confinement for debtors and persons
committed for contempt of court, and rapidly acquired a notoriety for every
kind of brutality and extortion. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times
before being finally abolished in 1842.
Fleur-de-Lys
The fleur-de-Lys (flower of lily) is an heraldic representation of an iris or
garden lily. It was the armorial bearing of the Kings of France from 1147 and
was also borne by some English families.
Flotsam
Flotsam are goods floating upon the sea, which belong to the Crown unless
claimed within a year and a day.
Flourine
Flourine is a gaseous element with the symbol F.
Flower
The flower of a higher plant consists of one or two whorls of enveloping leaves
surrounding the stamen and carpels, which are the organs essential for sexual
reproduction.
Flower and Scorpion
Flower and Scorpion is a domino game, a variation of Bergen, for two to four
players using a double six set (28 dominoes). As in Bergen, players score for
making the free ends of the layout equal. In addition, two pairs of dice are
thrown before each hand to determine the flower, which gives a bonus when the
ends of the layout match it, and the scorpion, which gives a penalty when it is
matched.
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass musical instrument.
Fluorescein
Fluorescein is an organic compound obtained by heating together pthalic
anhydride and resorcinol. It is a red powder insoluble in water, but it
dissolves in alcohol and also in alkalis, giving a brilliant green
flourescence. It is used as a dye.
Fluorescence
Fluorescence is the process of emission of electromagnetic radiation resulting
from the absorption of certain types of energy.
Fluoride
Fluoride is the salt of hydrofluoric acid.
Fluorine
Fluorine is a gaseous element with the symbol F belonging to the group known as
halogens. It is the most chemically reactive element (many substances ignite
spontaneously in it), and for this reason it is never found uncombined.
Fluorocarbon
A fluorocarbon is a compound in which hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon have been
replaced with fluorine.
Fluorosis
Fluorosis is chronic poisoning caused by drinking water containing excessive
amounts of fluoride. It results in discoloration of the teeth and a disabling
arthritis which chiefly affects the spine.
Fly-wheel
A fly-wheel is a heavy wheel whose inertia maintains a nearly uniform speed of
rotation under variable load or driving force. The revolving fly-wheel is a
reservoir of energy by virtue of its movement of inertia, and its effectiveness
depends on the amount of energy which it absorbs or gives up for a given change
of speed.
Flying Teapot
The Flying Teapot was a British Bulletin Board System (BBS) specialising in the
distributon of pirated software (warez) during the early 1990s.
Foal
A foal is a young horse.
Fodder
Fodder is all manner of foods given to horses, cattle, and other animals. It
includes grass or any plant eaten green, or the same dried for convenience or
for use in winter, and grain, beans, peas etc. or artificial products made from
any nutritional material.
Fog
Fog is a cloud that collects at the surface of the earth without any definite
shape.
Fohn
In geography, a fohn is a hot, dry, local Alpine wind produced by the
desiccation of an air current in passing over the mountain ranges and its
subsequent heating by compression on being drawn into the denser valley
atmosphere.
Foil
In metallurgy, foil is a term for a thin sheet of metal intermediate between a
leaf, such as gold leaf, and sheet metal. It varies in thickness according to
the constituent metal or metals. Very thin tin foil is used for backing
mirrors, and in chemistry and electronics.
Folded dipole
A folded dipole is a dipole aerial consisting of two conductors in parallel,
only one of which is broken at the centre for connection to the feeder. This
construction increases the bandwidth and the centre impedance of the aerial.
Folic acid
Folic acid is a B vitamin essential for growth, and plays many other roles in
the body. A lack of folic acid causes anaemia because it is necessary for the
synthesis of nucleic acids and the formation of red blood cells.
Folio
Folio is a sheet of paper folded once to make two leaves of a book or
manuscript, and hence the term is given to paper of a large size used for this
purpose.
Fondant
Fondant is a soft sweet made of flavoured sugar.
Font
A font is a vessel, generally of stone, used in the Christian Church for
holding the water for the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
Food Council
The Food Council was a body formed in 1925 on the advice of a Royal Commission
to investigate charges of food profiteering and to take action in such cases.
It had few powers, and the natural fall in prices soon made it unnecessary,
however the Food Council did sponsor the Weights and Measures Act of 1926.
Foolscap
Foolscap is a regular paper size of 13.5 by 16.5 inches, so called because it
was originally water-marked with a fool's head and cap.
Foot
The foot is a unit of the imperial scale of measurement of length equivalent to
12 inches or 30.48 centimetres.
Footprint
In computing, footprint refers to the floor or desk area taken up by a piece of
hardware.
Forecastle
The forecastle is a short deck in the forepart of a warship. In merchant ships
it is the forepart of the ship where the sailors live.
Forelock
A forelock is a wedge put through a hole in a bolt to keep the bolt in place.
Foresheets
The foresheets is the inner part of the bows of an open boat where the bowman
stands.
Forest
Forest is a term properly applied to an extensive woodland or to a large tract
of mingland woodland and open uncultivated land. In English law, a forest was a
territory privileged for game generally belonging to the sovereign and set
aside for his recreation.
Forestry
Forestry is the business of growing, harvesting and marketing trees and of
managing the associated wildlife and recreational resources.
Forge
A forge is a blacksmith's fireplace or furnace for melting and refining metal.
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde (methyl aldehyde) is the simplest representative of the aldehydes.
It has the formula H.CHO, and is a colourless and very pungent gas. It is very
soluble in water. It has a powerful preserving effect and is used in aqueous
solution for preserving anatomical specimens.
Formalin
Formalin is an aqueous solution of formaldehyde (40 per cent) and often 15 per
cent methyl alcohol. It is used as a disinfectant and as a preservative.
Formic Acid
Formic acid is the lowest member of the fatty acids. It has the formula H.COOH
and is found in nature in ants, stinging nettles, and in various parts of the
animal body. Commercially it is used in tanning and electro-plating. Its
artificial production was developed by Pelouze in 1831.
FormTool
FormTool by Bloc development is a computer forms editor that lets users create
forms such as time sheets, expense reports, or activity logs. FormTool can draw
vertical and horizontal lines, boxes, and grids. One keystroke can create
page-wide lines or change a line into a double line. A drag mode lets you
position blocks and copy or move them within or between forms using the
windowing facility. FormTool can extract data from dBase, DIF, and ASCII files
to merge into template forms. You can also create a form, fill it in on the
screen, and print the form and data together. The on-screen data entry
capabilities are limited, however. FormTool includes a forms database to sort
and organise forms. Information about the forms includes date created, form
name, and degree of complexity. A unique quick view lets you see forms before
selecting them. The product works with standard-width paper sizes and lets you
customise for odd sizes up to a width of 13.2 inches and a height of 13.3
inches. An automatic form sizer determines form size based on file size; this
is a particularly useful feature when using the file importing utility.
Formula
In chemistry, a formula is an expression of the constituents of a compound by
symbols.
Formulin
Formulin is a mixture of 67% methanol and 33% formaldehyde used as to preserve
specimens and as a fumigant. It causes vertigo, anxiety and panic attacks if
consumed.
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal linking the seas of the eastern and
western coasts of Scotland. It was started by Smeaton in 1768 and opened in
1790.
Fortis
Fortis is a powerful explosive invented in Belgium in 1887 and intended for
mining.
Fortissimo
Fortissimo is a musical term directing the singers to sing with the utmost
strength and loudness.
Forty-Fives
Forty-Fives is a card game descended from the Irish game Spoil Five. It is much
played among the Irish population in the New World - especially in Nova Scotia
- the most popular version being one with bidding, technically known as Auction
Forty-Fives, and also sometimes called One Hundred and Twenty, which is more
logical given that 120 is the target score and the number 45 has no relevance
to the game.
Foucault Current
see "Eddy Current"
Foundling Hospital
Foundling hospitals were charitable institutions for the care of children
abandoned by their parents. They were first founded to reduce instances of
infanticide during the 7th and 8th centuries by church authorities and their
numbers increased rapidly during the Middle Ages, especially in France.
Fountain-pen
A fountain-pen is a refillable pen which carries its own supply of ink which
runs to the writing point as required from a reservoir in the holder.
Fowler's Solution
Fowler's Solution is a solution of potassium arsenite, prepared by boiling
together arsenic trioxide and potassium bicarbonate in water. It was used in
medicine as a mild tonic for digestive disorders.
Fox-trot
The fox-trot is a ball-room dance danced against jazz music.
Foxbase+
Foxbase+ is a developmental tool based on the dBase data structure and
programming language. Foxbase+ creates files with a .FOX extension which must
be run with either Foxbase+ Development or Foxbase+ Runtime. A runtime version
is necessary to distribute programs to other users. Under the runtime version,
Foxbase+ programs may be executed but not modified. The runtime version ensures
the integrity of source code by only allowing users with the development
program access to the source code. Foxbase+ includes an interpreter similar to
dBase from which you can run Foxbase+ programs or any uncompiled dBase III Plus
program. In fact, you can run almost any dBase III Plus command from the
Foxbase+ dot prompt without worrying about incompatibility. The Product's
Assistant is similar to that in dBase III Plus. Foxbase+ has many features that
make it easy to use, such as the FoxCentral interface, which allows novice
users to take advantage of Foxbase+'s features. A screen and code generator is
also included.
FoxPro
FoxPro is the PC version of FoxBASE+/Mac. It is a relational database with a
report generator, application generator, and screen painter. Although it is a
character-based product, it has some features of a graphical interface:
pull-down and pop-up menus, buttons, check boxes, and scroll bars. FoxPro can
be used for simple data entry, query and report applications, or complex
menu-driven user applications. For less experienced users, it offers an
easy-to-use, mouse-driven interface; for developers, it offers an interactive
syntactical mode. There are step-by-step tutorials geared to four levels of
experience. Most functions run in their own window. Colours can be assigned to
any screen area. Applications created in Foxbase+ and dBase III Plus are fully
supported.
Frail
A frail is a rush basket for packing figs and raisins.
Fram
The Fram was a three-masted schooner built in 1892 for Nansen's expedition to
the Arctic, and used by Amundsen in the Antarctic in 1911.
Framework
Ashton-Tate's Framework is a decision support tool designed to help you
organise and analyse all the information encountered in the daily work
environment. Framework III contains a spreadsheet, database, word processor
with outlining, graphics, and communications with electronic mail. By combining
all the software tools typically needed, Framework III lets the user switch
from one function or one project to another without changing disks or leaving
the program. The word processing module in Framework III is the central feature
of this product. It includes an 80,000-word spell checker and a thesaurus;
foreign language disks are available for each of these features. You can
generate tables of contents, footnote documents, and see formatting such as
bold, italics, subscript, and superscript onscreen. Framework III's extremely
powerful outlining capability makes the product a perfect choice for
professionals who often need to organise and re-organise lengthy documents into
many sections with subheadings and titles. Documents can include spreadsheet
and database information as well as graphics. Electronic mail capabilities are
integrated into Framework III's pull-down menus. Framework III users can
communicate with each other or users of other compatible network mail programs.
The electronic mail feature uses the MHS (Message Handling Service) format.
Franckincense
Franckincense is a gum resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, used
in the making of incense and in ancient times in medicine.
Frangulin
Frangulin is a yellow crystallizable dye extracted from the bark of the alder.
It is used to dye wool, silk and cotton.
Frankincense
Frankincense is an incense derived from the resin of the tree boswellia.
Franking
Originally, franking was the right of sending letters free of charge. It was
claimed for letters both sent and received by the House of Commons in 1660, and
fully legalised in 1764 when all members of both Houses were allowed to send 10
and receive 15 letters a day gratis. The privilege was withdrawn on the
introduction of the penny postage in 1840. Today the term is most commonly
applied to the mechanical stamping of letters and parcels in place of fixing an
adhesive stamp.
Franklin Aerial
The Franklin aerial is a directional aerial consisting of a number of radiating
elements, uniformly spaced on a line at right angles to the desired direction
of maximum radiation.
Free Lance
The term Free Lance was originally a soldier who fought as a mercenary for
anyone who would pay him for his service. Now the term is applied to anyone who
works for anyone who will pay them, but is not on the regular staff of any
company, such as a writer for example.
Free Libraries
Free Libraries are libraries supported by municipalities, counties or
charitable organisations etc. available to the public without charge. The first
was established in Manchester in 1653.
Freebench
Freebench was an English right of a woman during her widowhood to an interest,
generally one-third, in her late husband's copyhold land. It was abolished in
1925.
FreeForm
FreeForm by Herne Data Systems Ltd formats all styles of standard DOS disks, as
well as non-DOS disks, and customized DOS disks (i.e you can make up your own
copy protection schemes). It gives complete control over formatting parameters
such as sector size, disk density, number of sectors and tracks. It is menu
driven, and includes user configurable formatting parameters.
Freehand
Aldus Freehand is a comprehensive drawing program for the Mac that lets you
produce high-quality graphics on PostScript output devices. It combines a wide
range of drawing tools with colour support, automatic tracing for imported
images, special effects, and advanced text-handling capabilities to create a
variety of line-oriented illustrations including technical, scientific, and
architectural illustrations. Its curve-handling capabilities and colour support
provide flexibility for more sophisticated illustration. Freehand has strong
text manipulation capabilities. Each block of text is considered an element and
can be rotated, mirrored, skewed, and resized.
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a cult with a secret ritual, considered by some to have
originated with Solomon and the building of the Temple, but in its modern form
dating from the mid 18th century when the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland and
Ireland were constituted. Members are mainly well-to-do businessmen.
Freeware
In computing, freeware refers to free software, often written by enthusiasts
and distributed by users' groups, or via electronic mail, local bulletin
boards, USENET, or other electronic media. At one time, `freeware' was a
trademark of Andrew Fluegelman, the author of the well-known MS-DOS
communications program PC-TALK III. It wasn't enforced after his mysterious
disappearance and presumed death in 1984.
French
French is a term used to denote someone or something from France.
French Chalk
French Chalk is a form of steatite or talc, used by tailors for marking cloth
for which its softness and burability on the material make it very suitable. It
is also used as a dusting agent to prevent adhesion of a tacky surface, as a
filler in plastics and to polish floors. It can be distinguished from ordinary
chalk by its greasy feel.
French Revolution
The French Revolution occured in 1789 and overthrew the despotic Bourbon
Monarchy, only to itself be overthrown by the Empire of Napoleon. In 1830
another revolution overthrew the again reigning monarchy, and again in 1848.
French Tarot
French Tarot is a trick taking card game played by three or four players with a
78-card deck of Tarot cards.
Freon 150
see "Dichloroethane"
Frequency Drift
Frequency drift is a phenomenon which affects electronic circuits. It is
variations in the natural frequency of an oscillatory circuit of an oscillator
due for example, to changes of capacitance with changes of temperature.
Frequency Modulation
Frequency modulation is a system of radio transmission in which the amplitude
of the carrier remains constant but the frequency is varied in accordance with
the amplitude of the modulating waveform. In frequency modulation the loudness
of the applied audio-frequency modulation is represented by the amount of
change of carrier frequency, and the frequency of the signal is represented by
the number of times the carrier frequency is changed every second.
Fresco
A fresco is a painting done on plaster.
Fret
In architecture, a fret is a decorative pattern consisting of a continuous
series of short, straight lines or bars joining one another or interlacing,
usually at right angles.
Friday
Friday is the fifth day of the week, the name derives from the Saxon
Frige-doeg, the day sacred to Freya.
Frith Gild
A Frith Gild was a Saxon voluntary association of neighbours for purposes of
order and self-defence. They repressed theft, traced stolen cattle and
indemnified parties robbed from a common fund raised by subscription of the
members.
FrontPage
Microsoft FrontPage is a collection of computer programs for Web site managers.
It includes the FrontPage Editor which is a WYSIWYG Web page editor, the
FrontPage Explorer can show you your site in both hierarchical and graphical
views and the FrontPage TCP/IP Test checks your machine for a Winsock layer, IP
address, and other items needed to establish a connection to the Internet. It
also includes a personal web server and server administration programs.
Fructose
Fructose (fruit-sugar or laevulose) is a simple and very sweet sugar found in
plant juices, fruit and honey. It is a mono-saccharose, white, crystalline
compound.
Fruit
Fruit is a botanical term for the mature ovary of a plant comprised of two
parts, the pericarp and the seed.
Fruit-sugar
see "Fructose"
FTP
FTP is the user interface to the ARPAnet File Transfer Protocol. It is a
computer program that allows a user to transfer files to and from a remote
networked site.
Fuchsine
see "Magenta"
Full Duplex
Full Duplex is a communications term referring to a circuit which allows
independent transmission information in both directions simultaneously. -
Synonym: In wire telephony, 4 wire circuit.
Fulminate
Fulminates are the metallic salts of fulminic acid. They can be made by
dissolving a metal in strong nitric acid and adding alcohol. The fulminate is
then precipitated. Fulminates are highly explosive compounds used for the
manufacture of detonators.
Funicular Railway
A funicular railway is a railway for transporting passengers up a steep
incline. They often run on the principle of balance, two carriages of equal
weight being joined by a long cable which passes over a pulley at the upper
end. Small power is required at the pulley to bring one car up the slope while
the other descends.
Furlong
The furlong is a unit of the imperial scale of measurement of length equivalent
to 10 chains, 220 yards or 201.168 metres. The name furlong derives from
furrow-length.
Furlongs
see "furlong"
Fuse
a fuse is a slow burning cord or other mechanism for delaying igniting a
charge, such as a mine. Early fuses (slow-matches) were made of lightly twisted
hemp dipped in potassium nitrate and ignited. Modern fuses may be electrical
attached to a timer, or chemical in which an acid burns away a division in a
container holding two chemicals which ignite when combined.
Fusel Oil
Fusel oil is the residue left after removing the ethyl alcohol from various
liquors obtained by fermentation, potato spirit being the best source. Fusel
oil consists principally of isoamyl and normal amyl alcohols, together with
smaller amounts of butyl alcohol, and various aldehydes and esters. It is a
poisonous, unpleasant smelling, oily liquid principally used as a source of
amyl alcohol.
