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Return to Terminology
K
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- K
- Temperature degree Kelvin or absolute on the centigrade scale;
°C equals degree centigrade; sometimes also used: °R equals Rankine, in the absolute
Fahrenheit scale.
- Kcal
- Kilogram calorie equals 1000 cal.
- Kepler's Laws
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Kepler's laws, three mathematical
statements by Johannes Kepler that accurately describe the revolutions of the planets
around the sun. The first law states that the shape of each planet's orbit is an ellipse (
Conic Section) with the sun at one focus. The second law states that if an
imaginary line is drawn from the sun to the planet, the line will sweep out equal areas in
space in equal periods of time for all points in the orbit. The third law states that the
ratio of the cube of the semimajor axis of the ellipse (i.e., the average distance of the
planet from the sun) to the square of the planet's period (the time it needs to complete
one revolution around the sun) is the same for all the planets. Newton gave a physical
explanation of Kepler's laws with his laws of Motion and law
of Gravitation. Also CelestialMechanics. |
- Kerosine
- Kerosene or kerosine, a colorless, thin oil that is less dense
than water. It is a mixture of Hydrocarbons commonly
obtained in the fractional Distillation of Petroleum, but also from coal, oil shale, and wood. Once the
most important refinery product because of its use in lamps, kerosene is now used chiefly
as a carrier in insecticide sprays and as a fuel in jet engines.
- Kg
- Kilogram equals 1000 gm (also "g").
- Kinetic Energy
- Ammunition Ammunition whose effectiveness is dependent upon
its high density (mass) and high velocity.
- Kinetic-Molecular Theory of Gases
- Kinetic-molecular theory of gases, physical theory that
explains the behavior of gases by assuming that any gas is composed of a very large number
of very tiny particles, called molecules, that are very far apart compared to their sizes.
The molecules are assumed to exert no forces on one another, except during rare, perfectly
elastic collisions. A gas corresponding to these assumptions is called an ideal gas. The
analysis of the behavior of an ideal gas according to the laws of mechanics leads to the Gas Laws. The theory also shows that the absolute Temperature is directly proportional to the average kinetic energy of
the molecules. Pressure is seen to be the result of large numbers of collisions between
molecules and the walls of the container in which the gas is held. Thermodynamics.
- Krypton
- (Kr), gaseous element, discovered by William Ramsay and M.W.
Travers in 1898. It is a rare Inert Gas used to fill electric
lamp bulbs and various electronic devices, and to detect heart defects. The definition of
a meter is based on the emission spectrum of the krypton-86 isotope.
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