Syzygy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Syzygy (IPA: [ˈsɪz.ɪ.ʤi]) is a kind of unity, especially through coordination or alignment, most commonly used in the astronomical and/or astrological sense [1]. From the Late Latin syzygia, "conjunction," from the Greek σύζῠγος (syzygos), "yoked together."
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[edit] Astronomy
In astronomy, a syzygy is the alignment of three celestial bodies in the same gravitational system along a straight line. The word is usually used in context with the Sun, Earth, and the Moon or a planet, where the latter is in conjunction or opposition. Solar and lunar eclipses occur at times of syzygy, as do transits and occultations. The term is also applied to each instance of New Moon or Full Moon when Sun and Moon are in conjunction or opposition, even though they are not precisely on one line with the Earth.
The word is often loosely used to describe interesting configurations of planets in general. For example, situations when all the planets are on the same side of the Sun, as occurred on March 10, 1982, are sometimes called 'syzygies', although they are not necessarily found along a straight line.
[edit] Athletics
- Syzygy is the name of Carleton College's Womens' Ultimate team.
[edit] Books
- Syzygy, a 1975 science fiction novel by Michael G. Coney
- Syzygy, a 1982 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl
Save for the concept of aligned planetary bodies these novels are completely unrelated.
- The Perfect Host, a 1948 science fiction novella by Theodore Sturgeon
- It Wasn't Syzygy, a 1947 fantasy short story by Theodore Sturgeon
[edit] Comics
- Syzygy Darklock is a key character in the Space Opera Dreadstar, premier title of Epic Comics.
- Syzygy is also a webcomic by Alicorn.[2]
- for a brief period in the Doctor Strange comics, Strange invoked the syzygy of all planets to tap into catastrophe magic
[edit] Games
- Project Syzygy is an alternate reality game, now referred to as Perplex City. A summary can be found here. For more detailed information, see the Perplex City Wiki.
- Syzygy is also the name of a word puzzle game made by Little Fish Industries. [3]
- Syzygy was the first choice of name Nolan Bushnell had for his new video game company which was later named Atari. Another Californian company had already registered the name.
- Syzygy is the name of a bot in Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004.
- The Syzygy Cult is a freeware development company active during the mid 1990s who developed classic Apple Macintosh games. For more detail, see Syzygy Cult.
- Syzygy was also the name of a Star Wars-inspired graphical text adventure published by Microdeal for the Dragon 32/64 computers in 1984.
- Syzygy is worth 21 points when played in Scrabble, requiring one blank tile in place of a Y.
- SyzYgY is the primary alias for a pseudo-professional gamer, known best for his membership in the Counter Strike: Source team, PowersGaming.
[edit] Gnosticism
A syzygy is a divine active-passive, male-female pair of aeons, complementary to one another rather than oppositional; in their totality they comprise the divine realm of the Pleroma, and in themselves characterise aspects of the unknowable Gnostic God. The term is most common in Valentinianism. See Gnosticism.
[edit] Mathematics
In mathematics, a syzygy is a relation between the generators of a module M. The set of all such relations is called the 'first syzygy module of M.' A relation between generators of the first syzygy module is called a 'second syzygy' of M, and the set of all such relations is called the 'second syzygy module of M.' Continuing in this way, we get the n-th syzygy module of M by taking the set of all relations between generators of the (n-1)-st syzygy module of M. If M is finitely generated over a polynomial ring over a field, this process terminates after a finite number of steps; i.e., eventually there will be no more syzygies (see Hilbert's syzygy theorem). The syzygy modules of M are not unique, for they depend on the choice of generators at each step.
[edit] Medicine
In medicine, the term is used to signify the fusion of some or all of the organs.
[edit] Philosophy
The Russian theologian/philosopher Vladimir Solovyov used the word "syzygy" to signify "unity-friendship-community," used as either an adjective or a noun. A pair of connected or correlative things. A couple or pair of opposites.
[edit] Poetry
- The combination of two metrical feet into a single unit, similar to an elision.
- Consonantal or phonetic syzygy is also similar to the effect of alliteration, where one consonant is used repeated throughout a passage, but not necessarily at the beginning of each word.
[edit] Psychology
In psychology, Carl Jung used the term "syzygy" to denote an archetypal pairing of contrasexual opposites, which symbolized the communication of the conscious and unconscious minds. The conjunction of two organisms without the loss of identity.
[edit] Software
- A Grid OS for PC Cluster Virtual Reality, Tele-Collaboration, and Multimedia Supercomputing. http://www.isl.uiuc.edu/syzygy.htm
[edit] Television
- Syzygy is the name of a 1996 episode of the science fiction mystery TV show The X-Files. The alignment of Mercury, Mars and Uranus happens at the same time several murder cases occur in a small town. FBI agents Scully and Mulder investigate in a climate of fear and mob mentality.
- A skit in a 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live featured "syzygy" as a spelling bee word which is asked to Mary Katherine Gallagher (Molly Shannon) by host Rudolph Giuliani. When she asks for the word's usage in a sentence, Giuliani replies, "Sure. Your spelling bee word is 'syzygy'."
[edit] Zoology
- The association of two protozoa end-to-end or laterally for the purpose of asexual exchange of genetic material.
- The pairing of chromosomes in meiosis.
- The name of a potent strain of Psilocybe Cubensis magic mushroom.
[edit] Trivia
Syzygy is the shortest English word containing three y's.
de:Syzygyel:Συζυγία (αστρονομία) es:Conjunción (astronomía) fr:Syzygie (homonymie)
