A New Literary Style of Science: The Rise of Acronyms in Physics and Astronomy.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: A New Literary Style of Science: The Rise of Acronyms in Physics and Astronomy.
Authors: Kragh, Helge1 (AUTHOR) helge.kragh@nbi.ku.dk
Source: Physics in Perspective. Dec2023, Vol. 25 Issue 4, p175-198. 24p.
Subjects: Literary style, Acronyms, Communicable diseases, Physics, Symptoms, Astronomy
Abstract: Research articles in all branches of modern science are crowded with the abbreviated technical terms known as acronyms, a phenomenon that was essentially unknown before World War II. Apart from an introduction to the notion of acronyms and its short history, the paper discusses from a historical perspective the connections between acronyms and eponyms in science. Moreover, it charts how acronyms and abbreviations became so common in physics and astronomy that the excessive use of them came to be considered a symptom of a contagious disease. While many science acronyms are exotic and little used, and some downright bizarre, others have become household words that in some cases are not even recognized to be acronymic constructions. The paper briefly examines the naming histories of some of these successful acronyms in physics and astronomy, among them radar, sonar, maser, laser, and pulsar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Physics in Perspective is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 176757793
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: A New Literary Style of Science: The Rise of Acronyms in Physics and Astronomy.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kragh%2C+Helge%22">Kragh, Helge</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> helge.kragh@nbi.ku.dk</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Physics+in+Perspective%22">Physics in Perspective</searchLink>. Dec2023, Vol. 25 Issue 4, p175-198. 24p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literary+style%22">Literary style</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acronyms%22">Acronyms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communicable+diseases%22">Communicable diseases</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Physics%22">Physics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Symptoms%22">Symptoms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Astronomy%22">Astronomy</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Research articles in all branches of modern science are crowded with the abbreviated technical terms known as acronyms, a phenomenon that was essentially unknown before World War II. Apart from an introduction to the notion of acronyms and its short history, the paper discusses from a historical perspective the connections between acronyms and eponyms in science. Moreover, it charts how acronyms and abbreviations became so common in physics and astronomy that the excessive use of them came to be considered a symptom of a contagious disease. While many science acronyms are exotic and little used, and some downright bizarre, others have become household words that in some cases are not even recognized to be acronymic constructions. The paper briefly examines the naming histories of some of these successful acronyms in physics and astronomy, among them radar, sonar, maser, laser, and pulsar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Physics in Perspective is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=176757793
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s00016-024-00306-9
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 24
        StartPage: 175
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Literary style
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Acronyms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communicable diseases
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Physics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Symptoms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Astronomy
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A New Literary Style of Science: The Rise of Acronyms in Physics and Astronomy.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kragh, Helge
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 12
              Text: Dec2023
              Type: published
              Y: 2023
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 14226944
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 25
            – Type: issue
              Value: 4
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Physics in Perspective
              Type: main
ResultId 1