-ics, -tics [-ac after i]

(Greek: a suffix that forms nouns and is usually used to form names of arts and sciences)

fluid mechanics
1. The scientific study of the mechanical properties of fluids (gases and liquids) in motion or at rest, including the observation, description, and mathematical computation of the behavior of fluids.
2. The experimental and mathematical-computational study of the mechanical behavior of fluids.

Fluid mechanics includes the transfer of heat and matter resulting from motion of the fluid, and the driving of the fluid motion due to differences in density which may be induced by temperature, as well as the effects due to temperature dependency of the constants of materials; for example, the viscosity.

3. The study of fluids and gases at rest and in motion which can be divided into hydrostatics, the behavior of liquids at rest; hydrodynamics, the behavior of liquids in motion; and aerodynamics, the behavior of gases in motion.

Hydrostatics takes into account the forces exerted by a liquid in all directions, not just the downward gravitational pull; such as, the upward force exerted on a submerged object that causes bouyancy.

Hydrodynamics is the study of fluid flow and fluid friction, or viscosity.

Aerodynamics is the study of the motion of gases which is most often applied to the study of air and the motion of solid bodies in it.

—Excerpts from "Fluid Mechanics", Encyclopedia of Science and Technology;
Routledge; New York; 2001; page 200.
fluidics, fluidic technology
1. A technology that carries out sensing, control, information processing, and actuation functions with fluid dynamic phenomena rather than mechanical moving parts.
2. The science, or technology, of using tiny jets of a gas or a liquid rather than electronic circuits for sensing, amplifying, or controlling certain functions.
forensic economics (pl) (noun) (a plural form used as either a singular or a plural)
The scientific subject field applying economic theories and methods to affairs within legal frameworks: Forensic economics can cover such areas as the lost value of a business, decreased business profits, the unknown value of a household service, replacement labor costs; and future medical-care costs.
forensic genetics
The branch of genetics that deals with the application of genetic knowledge to legal problems and legal proceedings.

Forensic genetics is also a branch of forensic medicine which more broadly investigates the application of medical knowledge that were applicable to legal matters.

This is not a new field. Long before the era of DNA fingerprinting investigators used blood grouping, HLA typing, and other tests of genetic markers in blood to try to determine who did it (and, more often, who did not do it).

forensics
1. The application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system.

This may be in relation to a crime or to a civil action.

2. Of or belonging to a court of law; judcial.

In 1659, it was a shortened form of an earlier forensical.

3. The art or study of formal debate; argumentation; rhetorical.
genetics
The branch of biology that deals with heredity; especially, the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variations of inherited characteristics among similar or related organisms.
genomics
A discipline in genetics (heredity in living organisms) concerning the study of the genomes (modern molecular biology and genetics where the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information) of organisms.
genuglyphics
The art of decorating the female knee to make it more erotic.
geoacoustics (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of acoustic properties in rocks by using an echo-ranging device with low-frequency seismographic waves intended to determine the composition and characteristics the earth's crust several miles deep: Sam's cousin, Hanson, is a scientist who has developed unique techniques for the use of geoacoustics in his research about the minerals that exist below the surface of the ground.
geodynamics (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study and the science that deals with the dynamic processes or forces within the Earth's interior: Geodynamics is a branch of geophysics which is concerned with measuring, modeling, and interpreting the configurations and the motions of the crust, mantle, and core of the Earth.
geoglyph (s) (noun), geoglyphs (pl)
Any ground-constructed example of rock art by using rocks, stones, earth, etc.: Examples of ,geoglyphs can be intaglios or rock alignments, straight lines, geometric shapes, and other representative designs found on the desert plain.

Geoglyphs can be formed by piling up materials on the ground surface or by removing surface materials and most suggest a largely ceremonial function.

geophysics (s) (noun) (no pl)
One branch of Earth studies pertaining to the physical processes and phenomena which take place in and around the planet: Geophysics ia the physics of the world and its environment, including the physics of fields, such as meteorology, oceanography, and seismology.

Geophysics is the study of the Earth by quantitative physical methods, especially by seismic reflection and refraction, gravity, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and radioactivity methods.

Geophysics is the scientific study of the physical characteristics and properties of the solid Earth, its air and waters, and its relationship to space phenomena.

Geophysics is the branch of geology in which the principles and practices of physics are used to study the planet Earth and its environment, such as earth, air, and (by extension) space. It is also the science that deals with the weather, winds, tides, earthquakes, etc. and their effects on the planet.

Geophysics includes the soils, sediments, and rock layers of the planet's crust, both continental and beneath the ocean floors.

The meaning of the word geophysics is undergoing changes. The classical methods of geophysics are being applied to the planets now that we can reach them.

Seismological techniques are being used to study the interior of the moon, and magnetic field measurements are important probes for the planets.

The name will not change. However, because it is a most encompassing science, ranging from petroleum exploration on the Earth to the understanding of the most distant planets.

—Based on words from
"Geophysics" by William A. Nierenberg;
Director Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography;
Dictioinary of Science and Technology; Academic Press;
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers; New York; 1992; page 925.
geopolitics (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of the relationships among politics and geography, demography, and economics, especially with respect to the foreign policy of a nation: Geopolitics is concerned with the influence of geographic factors, population distribution, and natural resources on a nation's foreign policy, for example, the efforts of a nation to control a canal, a trade route, an oil supply, etc.

Geopolitics is a combination of geographic and political factors relating to or influencing a nation or region.

geoponics (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of cultivating the earth; the science of agriculture: Tom wanted to have a farm and grow vegetables, so he decided to study geoponics first at the college in his town.
geospherics (adjective) (not comparable)
A reference to the combination of the Earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere: The geospherics team members worked together in order to understand the interrelationship of the solid part of the world, the water layer of the Earth, and its atmosphere.