Volcanoes
This type of volcano is built by successive, non-explosive eruptions of highly fluid, basaltic lava that travels great distances before hardening.
Shield Volcano
Created when massive stars collapse at the end of their lifecycles, and their centers are theorized to contain a singularity of infinite density.
Black hole
The force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center keeping all of the planets in orbit around the sun.
Gravity
The part of the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
Epicenter
The fundamental subatomic particle with a negative charge.
Electron
The deadliest of volcano hazards, a fast-moving avalanche of hot gas, ash, and volcanic rock fragments reaching speeds over 400 mph and temperatures up to 1,800° F.
Pryoclastic flow
Bloated up to hundreds of times the size of our Sun, these dying stars shine exceptionally bright despite having lower surface temperatures.
Red giant
The ratio of mass to volume.
Density
Able to travel through both solid rock and liquid, they are the first to reach a seismograph station following an earthquake.
Primary wave
It uniquely identifies a chemical element and determines its placement on the periodic table.
Atomic number
A fluid's internal resistance to gradual deformation by shear or tensile stress. Commonly perceived as a liquid's "thickness" or resistance to pouring, it represents the internal friction between moving molecules.
Viscosity
A type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths and lowest frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Radio waves
The regular, predictable rise and fall of sea levels caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth's oceans.
Tides
Earthquake distribution is highly concentrated along these boundaries where pieces of the lithosphere pull apart, collide, or slide past one another.
Tectonic plates
The process by which two or more light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus, releasing massive amounts of energy.
Fusion
The percentage of this mineral determines whether a volcanic eruption will be calm and flowing or highly explosive.
Silica
When a supergiant star runs out of nuclear fuel, gravity overwhelms it, causing its core to collapse in seconds. This rebound creates a massive shock wave that tears the star apart.
Supernova
This type of mathematical relationship between mass and acceleration is defined by Newton's Second Law of Motion.
Inverse proportion
Caused by the Earth’s liquid outer core blocking S-waves entirely and bending P-waves, this specific "dead zone" for earthquake detection between 104° and 140° away from the epicenter.
Shadow zone
This type of chemical bond is formed through an electrostatic attraction that occurs when atoms transfer electrons.
Ionic bond
A visible, often noxious haze created when sulfur dioxide (SO₂) gas emitted by an active volcano reacts with sunlight, oxygen, atmospheric moisture, and dust.
Vog
Because this element possesses the highest nuclear binding energy per nucleon, fusing it into heavier elements absorbs energy rather than releasing it. This halts energy production, directly triggering the star's catastrophic collapse.
Iron
An object in motion tends to stay in motion. A planet or spacecraft naturally wants to travel in a straight line through space thanks to this property of matter.
Inertia
At this nuclear power plant, major earthquake and 45 foot tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling causing a nuclear accident beginning on March 11, 2011.
Fukushima Daiichi
To achieve a more stable state, the unstable parent nucleus transforms into a "daughter" element or isotope through this process.
Radioactive decay