Key terms & definitions

Instructions encoded in binary that a processor can execute directly.

Designed for a particular processor architecture rather than being readily usable across different processor types.

Embroidery in which a sewing or embroidery machine forms the decorative stitches.

An approach to artificial intelligence in which a system learns patterns from data to perform a task, rather than having every decision explicitly programmed.

Powered equipment used to carry out manufacturing operations such as cutting, drilling or sanding.

A fastener generally threaded up to its head, which engages with a matching internal thread in a component or nut.

Powered equipment used to carry out operations such as cutting, drilling, shaping or sewing.

A state centre supplying tractors and other agricultural machinery to collective farms.

A named sequence of instructions used to carry out a task through a single command.

A very large molecule, such as an individual polymer molecule.

A nutrient needed in relatively large amounts in the diet. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are macronutrients.

A nutrient needed in relatively large amounts. Fat, protein and carbohydrate are macronutrients.

The size range of objects that can normally be seen and handled directly, rather than individual atoms or molecules.

A wooden sword-club fitted with sharp obsidian blades, used in close combat.

Mutually Assured Destruction: the situation in which both sides possess enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other, even after suffering an initial attack.

A school of Islamic legal interpretation with an established approach to deriving rulings.

A female follower of Dionysos, commonly represented dancing in religious ecstasy.

The path leading to the cessation of suffering, expressed through the Noble Eightfold Path.

Supernatural power used to affect people, events or the natural world. In The Tempest, Prospero's learned art enables him to command spirits.

A treatment intended to attack the microorganism causing a disease without harming the rest of the patient’s body.

Lines of stones laid across a slope to slow runoff, trap soil and organic matter, and encourage water to soak into the ground.

The ‘master of horse’, normally the dictator's subordinate military commander.

The teaching authority of the Catholic Church, exercised by the Pope and the bishops in communion with him.

An official who dealt with local legal cases and helped organise law enforcement.

A holder of a Roman public office, such as a quaestor, praetor or consul.

A volunteer, also called a Justice of the Peace, who hears cases in a magistrates’ court and deals with less serious offences.

An unpaid, trained volunteer who hears and decides cases in a magistrates’ court, with advice on the law.

A court that deals with less serious criminal offences and holds initial hearings for more serious offences. Cases are heard by magistrates or a district judge, without a jury.

Molten rock beneath Earth’s surface. Once it erupts onto the surface, it is called lava.

An underground reservoir where magma is stored.