the ratio of the mass of a fully-fuelled rocket at liftoff to the mass of the rocket without fuel
noun, Sociology. 1. a society whose members are characterized by having segmentalized, impersonal relations, a high degree of physical and social mobility, a spectator relation to events, and a pronounced tendency to conform to external popular norms.
noun, Pathology. 1. a condition in which a large group of people report similar physical symptoms that are traceable to social factors, as social interaction within an environment.
- Mass spectograph
A device that uses electrical or magnetic fields to determine the masses of atoms or molecules in a sample. A beam of ions is passed through the electrical or magnetic field. The field deflects the ions at different angles depending on their masses, thereby breaking the beam into separate, identifiable bands.
noun, Physics. 1. a mass spectroscope for recording a mass spectrum on a photographic plate. noun 1. a mass spectrometer that produces a photographic record of the mass spectrum