solid-beam efficiency
11electron tube — an electronic device that consists, typically, of a sealed glass bulb containing two or more electrodes: used to generate, amplify, and rectify electric oscillations and alternating currents. Also called electronic tube. Cf. gas tube, vacuum tube …
12building construction — Techniques and industry involved in the assembly and erection of structures. Early humans built primarily for shelter, using simple methods. Building materials came from the land, and fabrication was dictated by the limits of the materials and… …
13Mathematics and Physical Sciences — ▪ 2003 Introduction Mathematics Mathematics in 2002 was marked by two discoveries in number theory. The first may have practical implications; the second satisfied a 150 year old curiosity. Computer scientist Manindra Agrawal of the… …
14Business and Industry Review — ▪ 1999 Introduction Overview Annual Average Rates of Growth of Manufacturing Output, 1980 97, Table Pattern of Output, 1994 97, Table Index Numbers of Production, Employment, and Productivity in Manufacturing Industries, Table (For Annual… …
15technology, history of — Introduction the development over time of systematic techniques for making and doing things. The term technology, a combination of the Greek technē, “art, craft,” with logos, “word, speech,” meant in Greece a discourse on the arts, both… …
16Spacecraft propulsion — A remote camera captures a close up view of a Space Shuttle Main Engine during a test firing at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial… …
17Wireless energy transfer — or wireless power is the transmission of electrical energy from a power source to an electrical load without artificial interconnecting conductors. Wireless transmission is useful in cases where interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous,… …
18spectroscopy — spectroscopist /spek tros keuh pist/, n. /spek tros keuh pee, spek treuh skoh pee/, n. the science that deals with the use of the spectroscope and with spectrum analysis. [1865 70; SPECTRO + SCOPY] * * * Branch of analysis devoted to identifying… …
19materials science — the study of the characteristics and uses of various materials, as glass, plastics, and metals. [1960 65] * * * Study of the properties of solid materials and how those properties are determined by the material s composition and structure, both… …
20Copper indium gallium selenide solar cells — Copper indium gallium selenide (CuIn1 xGaxSe2 or CIGS) is a direct bandgap semiconductor useful for the manufacture of solar cells. Because the material strongly absorbs sunlight, a much thinner film is required than of other semiconductor… …
