Key terms & definitions

A change in the direction of Earth's global magnetic field so that its north and south magnetic polarities exchange.

A type of secondary storage that uses magnetic fields to represent binary 0s and 1s.

A material’s magnetic behaviour, including whether it is attracted to a magnet.

Mary’s prayer of praise in Luke 1:46–55, celebrating God’s greatness, mercy and care for the lowly.

How many times larger an image is than the real object.

How many times larger a model is than the real object.

The ratio of image height to object height.

How many times larger an image is than the real object: $\text{magnification} = \text{image size} \div \text{real size}$. It has no unit.

Describes an image that is larger than its object.

The size or amount of something, such as the size of a geographical event.

The size or amount of a quantity, expressed using a numerical value and an appropriate unit.

The size of a quantity without its positive or negative sign.

The size or length of a vector, without reference to its direction.

A member of a group associated with religious ritual; the plural is magi. Darius described Gaumata as a magus.

A group of Buddhist traditions, meaning ‘Greater Vehicle’, which emphasises teachings such as sunyata and the possibility of attaining Buddhahood.

A Shia militia associated with Muqtada al-Sadr that opposed the US presence in Iraq.

The obligatory bridal gift given by a husband to his wife as part of an Islamic marriage; it belongs to her.

An unmarried young woman. Camilla’s maidenhood is also connected with her commitment to chastity and devotion to Diana.

Armour made from linked metal rings, also called chainmail.

A browning reaction between proteins and sugars during heating which produces flavour compounds.

A clause that can stand on its own as a complete sentence. Also called an independent clause.

Memory directly accessible by the CPU, excluding cache and registers. RAM and ROM are examples.

The electricity supply delivered to buildings through the National Grid, used to power appliances plugged into sockets.

Electricity supplied to a building through the electricity distribution network.

The long, stable stage during which a star fuses hydrogen into helium in its core.

A stable stage of a star's life during which hydrogen nuclei fuse in its core.

The ease with which a program can be corrected, updated or extended.

Changing a program after it has been created, such as fixing faults or adding features.

Repeating information to keep it active in short-term memory.

The figure recognised in Buddhist tradition as the future Buddha, who is said to have appeared to Asanga and given him teachings.