-ics, -tics [-ac after i]

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

tectonics
1. A branch of geology that is concerned with the study of the features, deformational movements, and processes of the earth's crust.
2. The branch of geology studying the folding and faulting of the earth's crust.
3. The study of the mechanisms and results of large-scale movements of the earth's crust; for example, that which produces mountain ranges and extensive fault systems.
4. The science, or practice, of building construction.
tectonophysics
A branch of geophysics, it is the study of rock deformation and of dynamic geophysical processes.

This includes small individual crystals as well as the larger scales which include tectonic plates and forces in the mantle.

telematics
1. A reference to safety and informational communications devices including the growing panoply of entertainment items: MP3, iPod players, high-definition DVD screens, and electronic game portals.
2. A description of the process of long-distance transmission of computer-based information.
3. The integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as ICT (Information and Communications Technology). More specifically it is the science of sending, receiving and storing information via telecommunication devices.
4. It is also applied specifically to the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology which is integrated with computers and mobile communications technology.
5. A reference to the use of such systems within road vehicles, in which case the term "vehicle telematics" is used.
6. Refers to a broad industry related to using computers in concert with telecommunications systems; including dial-up service to the internet as well as all types of networks that rely on a telecommunications system to transport data.
7. Evolving to include a wide range of telecommunication functions that originate or end inside automobiles.

In a commercial environment, several potential telematics applictions are evolving:

  • Vehicle tracking telematics is a system that monitors the location, movements, status, and behavior of a single vehicle or a fleet.
  • Trailer tracking telematics which consists of the technology of tracking the movements and positions of an articulated vehicle's trailer unit, through the use of a location unit fitted to the trailer and a method of returning the position data via a mobile communications network or the system of geostationary satellite communications, for use though either PC or Web based software.
  • Satellite navigation telematics in the context of vehicle telematics is the technology of using a GPS and electronic mapping tool to enable the driver of a vehicle to locate a position, then route a plan and navigate a journey.
  • Mobile data telematics integrates the use of wireless data communications using radio waves to send and receive real time computer data to, from, and between devices used by field based personnel. These devices can be fitted solely for use while in the vehicle (Fixed Data Terminal) or for use in and out of the vehicle (Mobile Data Terminal).
teleotherapeutics
thaumaturgics (s) (noun) (a plural that functions as a singular)
Feats of magic, conjuring tricks.
  • The gods of mythologic philosophies were created to account for the wonders of nature.
  • Necessarily they were wonder-working individuals, and having been endowed with these magical powers in all the histories given in mythic tales of their activities on the earth, we find them performing amazing feats.
  • They could transform themselves; they were able to disappear and reappear; all their senses were magical; some were endowed with a multiplicity of eyes, others had an abundance of ears.
  • In Norse mythology the watchman on the rainbow bridge could hear the grass grow, and the movements of wool on the backs of sheep.
  • Their arms were able to stretch out to grasp the distance, tails could coil about mountains, and all their powers became magical.
  • The most wonderful power with which the gods were endowed was the capacity of will, for we find that they could think their arrows to the hearts of their enemies; mountains were overthrown by thought, and their conceptions were projected into other minds
  • Such were the thaumaturgics of mythologic philosophy.

—Information for this entry was compiled from the following sources:
The Development of Modern English by Stuart Robertson and revised by Frederic G. Cassidy.
The Origins and Development of the English Language by Thomas Pyles.
A History of the English Language by Albert C. Baugh.
The Story of the English Language by Mario Pei.
theopolitics (s) (noun)
The art and science of government that is based on the law of God.
theoretics
The theoretical part of a field of knowledge.
therapeutics
1. The science and art of healing.
2. A scientific account of the treatment of disease.
theriatrics, theriatric
1. The medical treatment of wild animals.
2. Veterinary medicine.
3. The medical treatment of animals in a zoo or menagerie.
theriomotherapeutics
1. Treatment of the diseases of lower animals.
2. Animal therapeutics as practiced by veterinarians.
thermionics
The study and applications of thermionic emissions, or charged particles, from heated surfaces.
thermodynamics, thermodynamical, thermodynamically
1. The branch of physicochemical science concerned with heat and energy and their conversions one into the other involving mechanical work.
2. The branch science which is concerned with the study of energy and with the relationship of heat transfer and work to other forms of energy.
3. The study of the flow of heat.
4. A branch of science dealing with heat, energy, and the interconversion of these, and with related problems.

Thermodynamics is the physical science that accounts for the transformation of thermal energy into mechanical energy and its equivalent forms in which temperature is a significant factor; such as, electricity and self-organization of complex systems.

thermoeconomics
The integration of thermodynamics and economics in order to make technical systems efficient, by finding the most economical solutions within the limits of what is technically possible.
thermogenics
The science or study of the mechanisms of heat production.
thermokinematics, thermokinematic
1. The study of motion caused by heat.
2. The study of the motion or motive power of heat.