TARDIS - Time And Relative Dimension In Space

Like many geeks, I am a fan of the rebooted Dr Who science fiction series.

As I suspect everyone with internet access knows, the Doctor’s spaceship-come-time-machine is the (or a) TARDIS: Time And Relative Dimension In Space.

It’s not my favourite acronym, I must admit, but it certainly is contrived. It is also a good excuse to share the photo on the left of the TARDIS in beautiful knitted form from the recent Royal Easter Show in Sydney. (Bravo, Andrew Galagher!) Mostly, though, it is a primer for the next ORCA post.

(NB. I always thought that the “Dimension” was plural but apparently not. I don’t really think that it makes sense in the singular but what do I know?)

SQUID - Superconducting QUantum Interference Device

SQUID - Superconducting QUantum Interference Device - came to my attention from a recent Nature magazine TOC featuring a News & Views piece, Quantum physics: An atomic SQUID:

“When a magnetic field needs to be measured with the utmost precision, a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is the instrument of choice.”

I’m not aware that cephalopods are particularly good at quantum physics nor precise measurements of magnetic fields, so this one is rated ad hoc.

COLBERT - Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill

COLBERT - the Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill - is the device used by astronauts on the International Space Station to keep fit. The NASA treadmill was originally called the T-2 but was renamed:

NASA selected the treadmill’s name after comedian and host Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” took interest during the Node 3 naming census and urged his followers to post the name “Colbert,” which received the most entries.

The acronym was engineered to fit the initials in a kind of inverse post hoc fashion (where the relevance of the acronym is added after its construction). In fact, COLBERT represents a new class of acronym to ORCA: the "Backcronym". (It was the Backcronym wikipedia page where I came across COLBERT, in fact.)