Glossary
Terms starting with N
150 definitions · page 2 of 3.
- new moon
- the phase in which the moon is in the same direction as the sun in Earth’s sky, so it is unilluminated and invisible
- Newsgroup
- A virtual Internet place where people exchange thoughts, ideas and interests, amuse themselves and do a zillion other things, all by means of text messages.
- Newsreader
- An application that allows to use newsgroups.
- NEWTON
- A unit of force. The amount of force it takes to accelerate one kilogram at one meter per second per second.
- Newtonian telescope
- a reflecting telescope in which a flat secondary mirror (called the diagonal) in the center of the tube reflects light to a focus outside the tube
- NGC
- New General Catalogue, a 19th-century compendium of deep-sky objects such as galaxies, globular clusters, and nebulae
- NGC objects
- deep-sky objects such as galaxies, globular clusters, and nebulae included in the New General Catalogue
- NGV (NATURAL GAS VEHICLE)
- vehicles that are powered by compressed or liquefied natural gas.
- Nibbed almonds
- These are specially prepared skinned almonds cut into pieces about 2mm square. They're mostly used for decoration. Brown them for a minute in a hot oven to add colour and to bring out their true nutty flavour.
- NIC
- Network Interface Card - a part of the computer hardware responsible for connecting a particular machine to the local area network.
- nicking
- Nuclease action to sever the sugar-phosphate backbone in one DNA strand but not the other at one specific site.
- nitrocellulose filter
- A type of filter used to bind DNA for hybridization.
- nitrogen base
- Type of molecule that forms an important part of nucleic acid, composed of a nitrogen-containing ring structure. Hydrogen bonds between bases in opposing complementary strands link the two strands of a DNA double helix.
- NNTP
- (Network News Transfer Protocol) An Internet protocol that describes how the newsgroups messages are distributed, stored, posted and retrieved.
- NO-FAULT
- Auto insurance coverage that pays for each driver’s own injuries, regardless of who caused the accident. No-fault varies from state to state. It also refers to an auto liability insurance system that restricts lawsuits to serious cases. Such policies are…
- NO-FAULT MEDICAL
- A type of accident coverage in homeowners policies.
- No-match Numbers
- A 3 or 4 digit number that contains no double digits as in the 'Double' or 'Double-Double'.
- NO-PAY NO-PLAY
- The idea that people who don’t buy coverage should not receive benefits. Prohibits uninsured drivers from collecting damages from insured drivers. In most states with this law, uninsured drivers may not sue for noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering…
- nocturne
- ("night piece") A nineteenth-century character piece for piano.
- Noisettes
- This term has several meanings: it's the French word for hazelnut, so 'pommes noisettes', for example, are hazelnut-sized balls of potato, cut with a melon baller, lightly fried and browned in butter. These are generally used as a garnish. 'Noisette' also…
- NON-ADMITTED ASSETS
- Assets that are not included on the balance sheet of an insurance company, including furniture, fixtures, past-due accounts receivable, and agents’ debt balances. (See Assets)
- NON-ADMITTED INSURER
- Insurers licensed in some states, but not others. States where an insurer is not licensed call that insurer non-admitted. They sell coverage that is unavailable from licensed insurers within the state.
- Non-comedogenic
- Also called non-occlusive. Refers to products that do not cause skin breakouts because they do not plug the pores of the skin.
- Non-Competition Clause
- A non-competition clause in a contract indicates that the parties, or more likely one of the parties, have agreed not to compete with the business of the contract for a set period of time after the contract expires or is terminated. To be enforceable, most…
- NON-DEPLETABLE ENERGY SOURCES
- Energy which is not obtained from depletable energy sources. [See California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Section 2-5302]
- non-disjunction
- The failure of a pair of homologous chromosomes to separate properly during meiosis. The failure of homologues (at meiosis) or sister chromatids (at mitosis) to separate properly to opposite poles, that is two chromosomes or chromatids go to one pole and…
- Non-diversity Country
- A country that has high rates of immigration of the United States. A high rate of immigration is more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the past five years. Natives of non-diversity countries cannot participate in the Diversity Visa Program…
- NON-FIRM ENERGY
- Electricity that is not required to be delivered or to be taken under the terms of an electric purchase contract.
- non-histone protein
- The protein remaining in chromatin after the histones are removed. The scaffold structure is made of nonhistone proteins.
- non-imitative counterpoint
- Same as unequal-voiced counterpoint.
- non-legato
- The slight separation of adjacent notes.
- non-linear tetrad
- A tetrad in which the meiotic products are in no particular order.
- non-Mendelian ratio
- An unusual ratio of progeny phenotypes that does not reflect the simple operation of Mendel's laws; for example, mutant:wild-type ratios of 3:5, 5:3, 6:2, or 2:6 in tetrads indicate that gene conversion has occurred.
- non-parental ditype (NPD)
- A spore arrangement in Ascomycetes that contains only the two recombinant-type ascospores (assuming two segregating loci). A tetrad type containing two different genotypes, both of which are recombinant.
- Non-Profit Corporation
- A non-profit corporation is a corporation that is formed without an intent to make a profit for its investors. Instead, the purpose of the non-profit is to make income for a religious, charitable, educational, literary, or a scientific purpose. Upon…
- non-recombinant
- In mapping studies the offspring that have alleles arranged as in the original parents are non-recombinants.
- Non-Traditional Careers
- Examples of non-traditional careers include male nurses and female carpenters. In other words, a non-traditional career is when a person chooses a career path that would not normally be expected of them, generally based on their gender.
- Nonimmigrant Visa
- A permit for a foreign citizen to apply to enter the United States temporarily for a specific purpose. Examples of persons who may receive nonimmigrant visas are tourists, student, diplomats and temporary workers.
- NONRESIDENTIAL BUILDING
- any building which is heated or cooled in its interior, and is of an occupancy type other than Type H, I, or J, as defined in the Uniform Building Code, 1973 edition, as adopted by the International Conference of Building Officials.
- nonsense codon
- One of the mRNA sequences (UAA, UAG, UGA) that signals the termination of translation. A codon for which no normal tRNA molecule exists. The presence of a nonsense codon causes termination of translation (ending polypeptide chain synthesis). There are three…
- nonsense mutation
- A mutation that alters a gene so as to produce a .
- nonsense suppressor
- A mutation in the anticodon of tRNA that alters the anticodon so it is now complementary to a nonsense codon allowing the tRNA to insert its cognate amino acid at this nonsense codon during translation.
- Noodles
- A type of pasta made with flour and water and sometimes eggs, cut into thin strips. The strands come in numerous shapes and sizes and can be fresh or dried. Noodles are used extensively in Far Eastern cuisine to accompany soups, sauces and stir-fried dishes…
- NOPR
- A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. A designation used by the FERC for some of its dockets.
- Nori
- Paper-thin toasted sheets of seaweed (laver - also used in Wales, Scotland and Ireland) used in Japanese cooking for wrapping sushi. There are lots of different varieties - dark green is the most common, but it also can be black, purple or dark red and comes…
- norm of reaction
- The pattern of phenotypes produced by a given genotype under different environmental conditions.
- Normal CD to Cassette Edit
- The CD changer determines which tracks fit on each side of the tape and will stop after the last track.
- normal distribution
- Any of a family of bell-shaped frequency curves whose relative position and shape are defined on the basis of the mean and standard deviation.
- Normande (à la)
- A term used to describe various dishes based on the cooking of Normandy or made using typical products from that region of France: butter, cream, seafood, apples, cider and Calvados.
- North Celestial Pole
- the point in the sky to which Earth's Geographical North Pole points
- Northern blot
- Transfer of electrophoretically separated RNA molecules from a gel onto an absorbent sheet, which is then immersed in a labeled probe that will hybridize to an RNA of interest to reveal its presence. See Southern blotting.
- Notary Public
- A Notary is a public officer appointed under authority of State Law who has power under the relevant Notary Statute to administer an oath, to certify affidavits, to take acknowledgements, depositions or sworn testimony, and to take certain actions in some…
- notched collar
- A two-piece collar that can be only worn open.
- note
- (1) A sound with a specific pitch and duration; (2) in musical notation, the symbol (e.g., J) for such a sound; (3) a single key on a keyboard.
- Notice of Action
- A Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) immigration form, (Notice of Action, Form I-797) that says that BCIS has received a petition you submitted, taken action, approved a petition or denied a petition.
- NOTICE OF LOSS
- A written notice required by insurance companies immediately after an accident or other loss. Part of the standard provisions defining a policyholder's responsibilities after a loss.
- Nougat
- A confection made from boiled honey and/or sugar syrup mixed with beaten egg white, almonds and sometimes pistachios and preserved fruit. It has a distinctive almond flavour and either a chewy or brittle texture, depending on how the honey or sugar syrup has…
- nova
- an explosion on the surface of a white dwarf that is accreting matter from a companion star, which causes the system to temporarily brighten by a factor of several hundred to several thousand
- NOx
- Oxides of nitrogen that are a chief component of air pollution that can be produced by the burning of fossil fuels. Also called nitrogen oxides.
- NRTA
- Northwest Regional Transmission Association. A subregional transmission group within the Western Regional Transmission Association.