Ultrasonics

The word ultrasonic combines the Latin roots ultra, meaning "beyond," and sonic, or sound. The field of ultrasonics thus involves the use of sound waves outside the audible range for humans.

Magnetism

Most people are familiar with magnets primarily as toys, or as simple objects for keeping papers attached to a metal surface such as a refrigerator door. In fact the areas of application for magnetism are much broader, and range from security to health care to communication, transportation, and numerous other aspects of daily life.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

One of the most amazing aspects of physics is the electromagnetic spectrum—radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, x rays, and gamma rays—as well as the relationship between the spectrum and electromagnetic force. The applications of the electromagnetic spectrum in daily life begin the moment a person wakes up in the morning and "sees the light." Yet visible light, the only familiar part of the spectrum prior to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, is also its narrowest region.

Light

Light exists along a relatively narrow bandwidth of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the region of visible light is more narrow still. Yet, within that realm are an almost infinite array of hues that quite literally give color to the entire world of human experience.

Luminescence

Luminescence is the generation of light without heat. There are two principal varieties of luminescence, fluorescence and phosphorescence, distinguished by the delay in reaction to external electromagnetic radiation.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are nutrients, along with proteins and other types of chemical compounds, but they are much more than that. In addition to sugars, of which there are many more varieties than ordinary sucrose, or table sugar, carbohydrates appear in the form of starches and cellulose.

Amino Acids

Amino acids are organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and (in some cases) sulfur bonded in characteristic formations. Strings of amino acids make up proteins, of which there are countless varieties.

Proteins

Most of us recognize the term protein in a nutritional context as referring to a class of foods that includes meats, dairy products, eggs, and other items. Certainly, proteins are an important part of nutrition, and obtaining complete proteins in one's diet is essential to the proper functioning of the body.

Enzymes

Enzymes are biological catalysts, or chemicals that speed up the rate of reaction between substances without themselves being consumed in the reaction. As such, they are vital to such bodily functions as digestion, and they make possible processes that normally could not occur except at temperatures so high they would threaten the well-being of the body.

Metabolism

The term metabolism refers to all of the chemical reactions by which complex molecules taken into an organism are broken down to produce energy and by which energy is used to build up complex molecules. All metabolic reactions fall into one of two general categories: catabolic and anabolic reactions, or the processes of breaking down and building up, respectively.

Digestion

Digestion is the process whereby the foods we eat pass through our bodies and are directed toward the purposes of either providing the body with energy or building new cellular material, such as fat or muscle. The parts of food that the body cannot use, along with other wastes from the body, are eliminated in the form of excrement.

Respiration

Respiration is much more than just breathing; in fact, the term refers to two separate processes, only one of which is the intake and outflow of breath. At least cellular respiration, the process by which organisms convert food into chemical energy, requires oxygen; on the other hand, some forms of respiration are anaerobic, meaning that they require no oxygen.

Food Webs

The idea of a food chain is common in everyday life, so much so that it has become a metaphor applied in many situations. A high achiever in business or other endeavors is said to be "at the top of the food chain," and images of big fish eating little fish abound in cartoons.

Nutrients and Nutrition

In the modern world people are accustomed to hearing a great deal about nutrients and nutrition. Words such as protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, and fats are a regular part of daily life, yet few people who talk about these nutrients really know what they are.

Vitamins

Most of us have been told to take our vitamins, but few people know why, and despite all the talk about them in modern culture, vitamins remain something of a mystery. Vitamins are organic substances, essential for maintaining life functions and preventing disease among humans and animals and even some plants.

Genetics

Genetics is the area of biological study concerned with heredity and with the variations between organisms that result from it. It demands an understanding of numerous terms, such as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), a molecule in all cells that contains blueprints for genetic inheritance; genes, units of information about particular heritable traits, which are made from DNA; and chromosomes, DNA-containing bodies, located in the cells of most living things, that hold most of the organism's genes.

Heredity

Heredity is the transmission of genetic characteristics from ancestor to descendant through the genes. As a subject, it is tied closely to genetics, the area of biological study concerned with hereditary traits.

Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering is the alteration of genetic material by direct intervention in genetic processes with the purpose of producing new substances or improving functions of existing organisms. It is a very young, exciting, and controversial branch of the biological sciences.