referencebooks (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} referencebooks) wrote,@ 2005-09-04 11:36:00 |
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| Entry tags: | language, science |
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, Sixth Edition
Published by McGraw-Hill, 2003.
This is a big, 9" by 11" book of 2380 thin pages including the appendix, plus several sections on how to use the dictionary.
Printed in double columns of small type, with wide margins to fit its numerous illustrations, this is a thorough dictionary covering all areas of vocabulary from the hard sciences (with psychology thrown in).
The dictionary mixes words from all areas of science into one alphabetic sequence, which means that you don't have to know anything about the meaning of a technical term in order to look it up.
Each entry begins with an abbreviation for the scientific field that the definition belongs to. It took me about ten seconds of browsing to notice one that was incorrect ("heavy water," which has the correct definition, is incorrectly identified as a term from invertibrate zoology). This might have been a fluke (no pun intended).
The actual definitions are very concise and clear. Here is a two typical examples:
perthitic [GEOL] Of a texture produced by perthite, exhibiting sodium feldspar as small strings, blebs, films, or irregular veinlets in a host of potassium feldspar.
Lombard effect [ACOUS] The change in a talker's articulation effort when he or she speaks in a noisy environment; for example, trying to raise the voice or to make the voice better understood by the listener.
Pronunciations are indicated using the standard phonetic markings that you find in any English dictionary.
Etymologies would be interesting, but are outside the scope of this very useful and already very large and dense book.
This is a great resource for anyone encountering scientific and technical terms that won't be found in an ordinary English dictionary.
