Ylem is a term used historically in cosmology and physics to describe a primordial substance or matter from which the universe was created. The term originates from the ancient Greek word "hylē," meaning "matter" or "stuff." In modern contexts, ylem was particularly popularized in the mid-20th century when discussing theories of the early universe and the Big Bang.
A helical engine is a type of engine design characterized by its use of helical (or spiral) shaped components that work together to convert energy into mechanical power. While the specifics can vary significantly depending on the context, helical engines typically refer to designs that seek efficiency in converting energy sources (such as thermal energy from fuel combustion or electromagnetic energy) into propulsion or mechanical work.
Phagraphene is a relatively new and emerging carbon allotrope that consists of a planar arrangement of carbon atoms, similar to graphene. It was theoretically predicted and later synthesized, showcasing unique properties that may have potential applications in various fields such as electronics, nanotechnology, and materials science. The structure of phagraphene differs from graphene primarily in the arrangement of its carbon atoms, which leads to distinctive electronic properties.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Binghamton, New York, is a local branch of the National Weather Service, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This office is responsible for monitoring and forecasting weather conditions, issuing warnings and alerts for severe weather, and providing climate data for the region. The Binghamton office covers parts of New York, including the Southern Tier and parts of northeastern Pennsylvania.
The Panama Fracture Zone is a significant geological feature that is part of the tectonic landscape of the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is a transform fault situated between the Cocos Plate to the southwest and the North American Plate to the northeast. This fault zone is characterized by horizontal movement, where two tectonic plates slide past each other sideways as opposed to converging or diverging. The Panama Fracture Zone has implications for tectonics and seismic activity in the region.
Conchology is the scientific study of mollusk shells, which includes the examination of their structure, classification, and ecology. Mollusks are a diverse group of invertebrates that include animals such as snails, clams, octopuses, and squids. The shells, often composed of calcium carbonate, serve various purposes, including protection from predators, environmental adaptation, and locomotion.
Ophiolite is a geologic term that refers to a specific type of rock assemblage that represents oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level, typically due to tectonic processes. Ophiolites are important in the study of plate tectonics and the formation of the Earth’s crust.
"Skywave" can refer to a few different concepts depending on the context: 1. **Radio Propagation**: In the context of radio communications, "skywave" refers to a type of radio wave propagation that occurs when radio waves are reflected back to Earth by the ionosphere. This allows radio signals to travel long distances beyond the horizon, making long-distance communication possible, particularly for AM radio frequencies.
Dark nebulae are a type of interstellar cloud that is dense enough to obscure the light from objects behind them, such as stars and other celestial bodies. Unlike diffuse nebulae, which are composed of gas and dust and can often emit their own light (typically due to excited hydrogen gas), dark nebulae primarily absorb light, creating visually dark patches against the backdrop of brighter stars or regions of space.
In chemistry, the term "field effect" often refers to the influence that an applied electric field can have on the properties and behavior of molecules, especially in the context of conductive materials and charge carrier mobility. While the term is more commonly associated with electronics (e.g., field-effect transistors), it does have applications in chemistry, particularly in areas like electrochemistry and molecular interactions.
The Chayanda field is an oil and gas field located in the Sakha (Yakutia) region of Russia. It is part of the East Siberian region, which has been the focus of significant exploration and development due to its rich hydrocarbon resources. The Chayanda field is particularly notable for being part of Russia's efforts to increase its production and export of natural gas, especially to Asia.
Surfactant, short for surface-active agent, is a substance that reduces surface tension in liquids. Surfactants are typically amphiphilic molecules, meaning they have both hydrophilic (water-attracting) and hydrophobic (water-repelling) parts. This unique structure allows them to accumulate at interfaces, such as between air and water or oil and water, altering the properties of the surface.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact