23 November 2015
flux
[fluhks]
noun
1. a flowing or flow.
2. the flowing in of the tide.
3. continuous change, passage, or movement:
His political views are in a state of flux.
4. Physics.
the rate of flow of fluid, particles, or energy.
a quantity expressing the strength of a field of force in a given area.
5. Chemistry, Metallurgy.
a substance used to refine metals by combining with impurities to form a molten mixture that can be readily removed.
a substance used to remove oxides from and prevent further oxidation of fused metal, as in soldering or hot-dip coating.
(in the refining of scrap or other metal) a salt or mixture of salts that combines with nonmetallic impurities, causing them to float or coagulate.
6. fusion.
verb (used with object)
7. to melt; make fluid.
8. to fuse by the use of flux.
9. Obsolete. to purge.
verb (used without object)
10. to flow.
Origin of flux
Middle English, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin fluxus a flowing, equivalent to fluc-, variant stem of fluere to flow + -tus suffix of v. action, with ct > x
Related forms
nonflux, noun
superflux, noun
transflux, noun
Synonyms
1. course, current, flood, stream.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for flux
Contemporary Examples
Rome is graceful, outlandish, grand, cold, eternal, in flux, and full of olive-rich contradictions.
The New Fellini: Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘The Great Beauty’
Jimmy So
November 17, 2013
“He is at the core of all the other flux and fluff,” Lawrence warns.
The Quintessential American
James Carroll
December 2, 2009
On Wednesday Beijing began its leadership change even as the political transition process itself remains in flux.
Is Political Change Coming to China?
Melinda Liu
November 7, 2012
Today’s quote
I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
– Michelangelo
On this day
23 November 534BC – Thespis of Icaria becomes the first recorded actor to portray a character on stage.
23 November 1859 – birth of William H. Bonney aka Billy ‘The Kid’. American outlaw. Legend has it that he killed 21 men, although historians believe it may have been between 4 and 9 men. He was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett around 14 July 1881. Some conspiracy theorists believe that Bonney did not get shot that day, but that Garrett staged the shooting so that Billy ‘The Kid’ could escape.
23 November 1889 – the first jukebox commences operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
23 November 1963 – Dr Who premiers on BBC TV, starring William Hartnell. It has become the longest running science fiction series in the world.
23 November 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorising the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit, train and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua, in order to wage guerilla warfare against the ruling leftist Sandanista regime. In 1982, the Boland Amendment was passed by Congress which banned US support of the Contras. The Reagan administration illegally continued funding the rebels. Part of the funding was obtained by illegally selling arms to Iran, which was the subject of an international arms boycott. The Reagan administration sold the arms in an effort to free seven US hostages being held by a group linked with Iran. The scandal became known as the Iran-Contra affair and was the subject of a Presidential Commission (the Tower Commission) as well as investigations by a number of Congressional Committees. As a result, a number of high ranking members of Reagan’s administration were indicted, including Caspar Weinberger (Secretary of Defence) – later pardoned by President H.W. Bush in 1991 before standing trial, William Casey (Head of the CIA), Robert C. MacFarlane (Assistant Secretary of State), Oliver North (National Security Council), Admiral John Poindexter, and numerous others. While Reagan knew of the operations, it was not definitively shown that he issued the orders.