This particular quiz tests your knowledge of archaic scientific words & definitions. Choose the best answer for the spirit of the quiz; i.e., the one that represents the newer term or the abandoned definition.

1. Gutta percha

a) 16th century Indian physicist

b) Latin for "cat gut," used for stringed instruments

c) Cable insulation

d) Explosive compound

2. Condenser

a) Capacitor

b) Air pump

c) Mass compactor

d) Electrical probe

3. Luminiferous aether

a) Flame created by laboratory heaters

b) Medium that supports the transmission of

    light particles

c) The "light of the moon"

d) Glowing gas

4. Thermionic valve

a) Vacuum tube diode

b) Heat flow switch

c) Systolic pump

d) Lock

5. Dephlogisticated air

a) Dry (dehumidified) air

b) Perfect vacuum

c) Supersaturated air

d) Molecular oxygen

6. Corpuscle

a) Low-ranking enlisted man's bicep

b) Free radical

c) Electron

d) Light particle

7. Audion

a) Music aficionado

b) Sound generator

c) Vacuum tube triode

d) Sound level meter

8. Caloric

a) A stomach settling medical remedy

b) Unit of work

c) Unit of electrical resistance

d) Fluid responsible for heat flow

9. Leyden jar

a) Glass vacuum chamber

b) Energy storage device (capacitor)

c) Calibrated nudge

d) Test tube

10. Voltaic pile

a) Battery

b) Hemorrhoid

c) Large heap

d) Nuclear reactor

Need some help? Click here for the answers and explanations.

Posted August 16, 2019