#technical terms

• Aeroplane piloting — A rare historical term used during the early days of aviation to designate the art, technique, or act of navigating and piloting an aeroplane. This structural concept evoked the collective practical knowledge related to controlling fixed-wing aircraft, being later completely replaced by the modern term 'piloting' or included within the broader scope of aviation.
• Alkalescence — The property of being alkalescent; the state of a substance, solution, or organic medium showing a weak, incipient, or developing alkalinity. It represents the transitional phase or moderate chemical character where the pH evolves from neutral toward basic levels without reaching a highly corrosive value.
• Altigraph — An automatic recording instrument (barographic altimeter) used in aviation and meteorology to continuously measure and graphically trace on a chart the altitude variations of an aircraft or a weather balloon based on changes in atmospheric pressure.
• Alumel — A ductile magnetic alloy composed primarily of nickel (around 95%), aluminum, manganese, and silicon, widely used in industry, especially alongside chromel, to manufacture conductive wires for thermocouples designed to measure high temperatures.
• Aluminizing — The act of aluminizing or coating the surface of an object (metal, glass, mirror) with a thin protective layer of aluminum, achieved through spraying, vacuum deposition, or galvanic processes to enhance reflectivity or corrosion resistance.
• To aluminize — To coat the surface of an object (metal, glass, mirror) with a thin protective layer of aluminum, achieved through spraying, vacuum deposition, or galvanic processes to enhance reflectivity or corrosion resistance.
• Aluminizing — The act of aluminizing and its result; a thermochemical treatment or technological process of depositing a thin layer of aluminum onto the surface of steel, cast iron, or glass objects to protect them from corrosion and oxides or to provide high reflective properties.
• Aluminothermy — A metallurgical process based on the reduction of metal oxides using aluminum in the form of fine powder or granules, a highly exothermic reaction that releases a massive amount of heat and temperatures exceeding two thousand degrees, heavily used for welding railway tracks or obtaining pure metals.
• Sliding — The act of slipping, sliding, or gliding and its result; a continuous and smooth movement over a glossy or wet surface. In geomorphology, it designates the natural or accidental displacement of soil or rock masses down an inclined slope, caused by water infiltration or gravity (landslide).
• Space occupancy — The state of overcrowding, blocking, or excessive occupancy of a space, a communication route, or a data channel by a large volume of physical elements or information flows. In an architectural and logistical sense, it represents the total physical space that an object, piece of equipment, or structure occupies within a given perimeter, often creating obstacles to fluid circulation or operational processes.
• Anchor handler — A person specialized in performing anchoring and mooring maneuvers for ships in ports or on offshore platforms; a worker who secures structural anchors in construction. In a technical sense, the term can describe an automatic mechanical device or a special vessel (Anchor Handling Tug) used for launching, placing, and recovering heavy anchors of submarine oil facilities.
• Forehold — A technical compartment or storage space located at the front of a ship (at the prow), positioned ahead of the main cargo holds. This space is often utilized for storing anchoring equipment, ropes, deck tools, or other auxiliary materials necessary for the crew's maritime maneuvers.
• Firedamp-proof — Designed structurally or chemically treated to prevent the ignition, propagation, or explosion of hazardous underground mixtures of methane gas and air, commonly known as firedamp. In a technical sense, the term describes safety equipment, insulating materials, or sealed electrical devices intended for use in mining environments with a high risk of deflagration.
• Anti-galling — Designed structurally or chemically treated to prevent, reduce, or eliminate the risk of deep scratching, abrasive wear, or galling of metallic or polymeric surfaces in direct contact and continuous motion. In an industrial sense, it describes a protective layer, a special lubricant, or a guiding device optimized to block mechanical seizing.
• Antimagnetic — Not influenced by the action of external magnetic fields or preventing the penetration of magnetic force lines; a device, casing, or material capable of maintaining its physical properties unchanged in environments with high magnetic intensity. In a structural sense, it describes special alloys (such as mu-metal) or precision mechanisms (like Swiss watch springs) specifically shielded against magnetization.
• Antimonial — Containing antimony (stibium), relating to antimony, or obtained from this metalloid; a chemical preparation, alloy, or medicinal compound whose structure includes antimony. In the history of pharmacy, it describes specific remedies used as emetics (to induce vomiting) or as antiparasitic treatments in early veterinary and human medicine.
• Antimonate — A salt of antimonic acid, obtained through the chemical combination of pentavalent antimony oxide with a base or a metallic oxide; a chemical compound structurally featuring stibium in its maximum valence state. As an adjective, it describes a substance or mineral treated with or containing such an anionic compound in its crystalline lattice.
• Antimonic — Containing antimony (stibium) in its maximum valence state (pentavalent, +5); relating to chemical compounds derived from higher antimony acid or oxide. In a structural sense, it defines molecules with high thermal stability and specific reactivity, often utilized as flame retardants or catalysts in industrial processes.
• Antimonic — The feminine singular form of the adjective antimonic; containing antimony (stibium) in its maximum pentavalent valence state (+5) or relating to compounds derived from higher stibium acid or oxide. In a structural sense, it defines a stable substance, salt, or solution utilized industrially as a flame retardant, opacifier, or catalyst.
• Antimonyl — A monovalent chemical radical composed of one antimony atom and one oxygen atom (SbO), wherein stibium acts in a trivalent valence state; a functional group that structurally enters the composition of certain complex salts, such as antimony potassium tartrate (tartar emetic). In an industrial and pharmaceutical sense, its compounds were historically used as emetics or mordanți in dyeing.