|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
filament
filament
1. A long ‘tongue’ of relatively cool material (10 000 K) suspended in the much hotter solar corona (2 million K). Filaments appear dark when seen silhouetted against the Sun's disk in Hα light, but at the limb they appear as prominences. Quiescent filaments (the equivalent of quiescent prominences at the limb) may show gradual changes, but portions of the filament may move more quickly, at speeds of a few kilometres per second. Loop filaments (the disk equivalent of loop prominences) are sometimes seen near very large flares. The equivalent of an eruptive prominence is the disappearing filament, sometimes called a disparition brusque, from the French meaning ‘sudden disappearance’. Disappearing or winking filaments may occur as a result of a Moreton wave. An arch filament system is a set of cool loops associated with emerging active regions. 2. A chain-like cluster or supercluster of galaxies. The large-scale structure of galaxy distribution in the Universe is dominated by such features, which may be tens of millions of light years long. |
|
|
Cite this article
"filament." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "filament." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-filament.html "filament." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-filament.html |
|
filament
fil·a·ment / ˈfiləmənt/ • n. a slender threadlike object or fiber, esp. one found in animal or plant structures: a filament of cellulose. ∎ a conducting wire or thread with a high melting point, forming part of an electric bulb or vacuum tube and heated or made incandescent by an electric current. ∎ Bot. the slender part of a stamen that supports the anther. ∎ Astron. a narrow streamer from the sun's chromosphere or in its corona. ∎ Astron. a narrow streamer of gas in an interstellar cloud or nebula. DERIVATIVES: fil·a·men·ta·ry / ˌfiləˈmentərē/ adj. fil·a·men·tous / -ˌmentəs/ adj. |
|
|
Cite this article
"filament." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "filament." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-filament.html "filament." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-filament.html |
|
filament
filament
1. One of the strands of protein, variously grouped according to diameter (in the range 4–15 nm), found in many types of cell. Their functional significance is incompletely understood, but since they are largely composed of the contractile proteins actin and/or myosin it is presumed that the motility of the cell or its contents forms part of their role. 2. The stalk of a stamen, which bears the anther. 3. A line of algal cells forming a thread-like structure. |
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "filament." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "filament." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-filament.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "filament." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-filament.html |
|
filament
filament
1. A thin strand (e.g. of a feather or gill). 2. One of the strands of protein, variously grouped according to diameter (in the range 4–15 nm), found in many types of cell. Their functional significance is incompletely understood, but since they are largely composed of the contractile proteins actin and/or myosin it is presumed that the motility of the cell or its contents forms part of their role. |
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "filament." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "filament." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-filament.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "filament." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-filament.html |
|
filament
filament
1. (in zoology) A long slender hairlike structure, such as any of the barbs of a bird's feather. 2. (in botany) The stalk of the stamen in a flower. It bears the anther and consists mainly of conducting tissue. 3. (in cell biology) See intermediate filament; microfilament. |
|
|
Cite this article
"filament." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "filament." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-filament.html "filament." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-filament.html |
|
filament
filament (fil-ă-mĕnt) n. a very fine threadlike structure, such as a chain of bacterial cells.
—filamentous (fil-ă-ment-ŭs) adj. |
|
|
Cite this article
"filament." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "filament." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-filament.html "filament." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-filament.html |
|
filament
filament XVI. — F. filament or modL. fīlamentum, f. late L. fīlāre f. fīlum thread.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "filament." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "filament." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-filament.html T. F. HOAD. "filament." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-filament.html |
|
filament
filament in astronomy: see chromosphere . |
|
|
Cite this article
"filament." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "filament." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-filament.html "filament." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-filament.html |
|