Technology glossary

Isotope Separation

A process that separates atoms of the same element according to differences in nuclear mass or radioactive properties.

KRAS(KRAS)

A member of the RAS family of molecular switches. Mutations in the KRAS gene can keep growth signalling active and drive many pancreatic, colorectal, and lung cancers.

L-Band

L-band is a portion of the microwave radio spectrum widely used for satellite navigation and communications. GPS and other GNSS systems transmit their principal ranging signals on frequencies within this band.

L1C(L1C)

L1C is a modern civilian GPS signal on the L1 frequency designed for interoperability with other global navigation satellite systems and improved performance for civilian users. GPS III satellites broadcast L1C.

L2C(L2C)

L2C is the second civilian GPS signal, introduced as part of GPS modernization to support commercial and scientific users. Used with other frequencies, it helps receivers correct atmospheric errors and improve positioning reliability.

L5 GPS Signal(L5)

L5 is a modern civilian GPS signal transmitted in a frequency band reserved for aviation safety services. Its higher power, greater bandwidth and use alongside other GPS frequencies can improve accuracy, robustness and resistance to interference.

Lagrange Point 2(L2)

A region about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth in the direction away from the Sun where a spacecraft can orbit while staying aligned with Earth and the Sun. The geometry supports stable thermal conditions and continuous communications, though station-keeping maneuvers are still required.

Langmuir-Schaefer Deposition

A coating technique that transfers a monolayer assembled at a liquid-air interface onto a solid surface, typically by bringing the surface into contact with the floating film. Modified forms can wrap particle monolayers around curved objects.

Laser Power Beaming

A wireless power-transfer method that converts electricity into a directed laser beam, sends it across a line of sight, and converts the received light back into electricity. Practical systems must manage conversion losses, beam tracking, atmospheric interference and laser safety.

Late-Stage Functionalization

Adding or changing a functional group near the end of a molecule's synthesis to rapidly create related variants.

Lateral Movement

The technique of moving from one compromised system to other connected systems after initial access.

Launch Window

A limited period when a rocket can launch and still follow the required trajectory to its destination. The window depends on orbital geometry, vehicle readiness, weather, range safety and mission constraints.

LDL Cholesterol(LDL-C)

The amount of cholesterol carried in the blood by low-density lipoprotein particles. Persistently elevated LDL cholesterol contributes to plaque buildup in arteries and is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Leadless Pacemaker

A compact pacemaker implanted directly inside a heart chamber through a catheter, without the transvenous leads and chest pocket used by conventional systems.

Leap Second

A leap second is an occasional one-second adjustment to UTC used to keep civil atomic time close to Earth's irregular rotation. GPS Time does not include leap seconds, so GPS receivers use broadcast offset information when converting to UTC.

Lenticular Lens

A narrow cylindrical lens, usually used in an array, that directs different parts of an underlying image toward different viewing angles. Lenticular lenses can make a surface show different pictures or an illusion of motion without an electronic display.

Light Dark Matter

Hypothetical dark matter particles with masses below the range targeted by many traditional direct-detection experiments.

Lignocellulosic Biomass

Plant-derived material composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, including wood, straw, grasses, and agricultural residues. It is abundant and does not have to be edible, but its resistant structure makes conversion into fuels and chemicals technically difficult.

Limit of Detection(LOD)

The lowest amount or concentration of a substance that an analytical method can distinguish reliably from background noise under specified conditions. It indicates detectability, not necessarily the level that can be measured with acceptable accuracy and precision.

Little Red Dot

A compact, red source seen by the James Webb Space Telescope in the early universe. Little red dots often show broad hydrogen lines, but their mixture of stars, gas and actively feeding black holes remains under study.

Lobate Scarp

A long, curved cliff produced when one block of planetary crust is pushed over another along a thrust fault. Lobate scarps on Mercury are key surface evidence that the planet contracted as its interior cooled.

Local AI Model

An AI model that runs on a user's own device or private infrastructure rather than relying entirely on a remote cloud service.

Local Large Language Model

A large language model whose files and inference software run on a user-controlled computer or private server, allowing prompts and documents to be processed without relying on a hosted cloud model for each request.

Location Privacy

Location privacy concerns how information about a person's or device's physical whereabouts is collected, inferred, stored and shared. Smartphones and connected services can derive location from GNSS as well as cellular, Wi-Fi and other signals.

Location-Based Services(LBS)

Location-Based Services (LBS) are software services that use a device's geographic position to provide relevant functions or information, such as maps, ride-hailing, nearby search, delivery tracking and geofencing.

Long-Range Inhibitory Interneuron

An inhibitory neuron whose axon influences targets far beyond its local circuit. Unlike most cortical interneurons, it can coordinate activity across separated brain regions by reducing or timing neuronal firing.

Longitudinal Study

A research design that follows the same people, households or other units over multiple points in time. Comparing repeated observations helps researchers identify how behaviour or outcomes change, although it does not by itself prove what caused the change.

Look-Elsewhere Effect

The increased chance of finding an apparently significant fluctuation when many datasets, models, energy ranges or locations are tested. Statistical significance is adjusted to account for the number of opportunities available for a chance result to appear.

Low Earth Orbit(LEO)

The region of space relatively close to Earth, commonly used by observation and communications satellites.

Low-Latency Data Feed

A data service designed to deliver updates with minimal delay, often for trading, monitoring, or automated decision systems.