science

Alethiometer: a mysterious truth-seeking or future-telling device. Find out more about alethiometers at the random house page.

Aurora: Storms of charged particles and intense solar rays that cause a luminous radiation. A phenomenon of great beauty and mystery, the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, may contain a city from another universe.

Daemon: soul-like companion to each individual human being. Daemons are generally of the opposite gender to their human counterparts. In childhood, a daemon can alter its form to reflect the emotions and concerns of its human. However, in adulthood, a daemon loses the power to change, and it assumes a permanent form that best reflects the inner nature of its human.

Dust: mystical particles that appear to come from the sky and are attracted to adult humans. Dust is formed when matter begins to understand itself. Dust seems to reveal, or perhaps contain, the thing that makes human beings unique creatures. Although holding very different views about its essential nature, the Church, along with many powerful individuals and political groups, believes that mastery over Dust would be a source of great power.

Elementary Particles: particles that can not be divided into smaller particles such as electrons, neutrinos and quarks.

Experimental Theology: a lofty yet critically relevant field or study in Lyra's world that includes the exploration of the concept of Dust. Experimental Theology most closely corresponds with the area physics relating to elementary particles that is studied in our world.

I Ching: an ancient Chinese form of divination that Dr. Mary Malone uses to help her "read" and understand Dust particles.

Sraf: the Mulefa word for Dust. Mulefa have the ability to see Sraf with their naked eyes. Large quantities of Sraf accumulate around conscious beings and this allos the Mulefa to determine that Dr. Mary Malone is a thinking being like them.

Shadows: the same mysterious entity as the Dust of Lyra's world. Also known as Dark Matter, this material is conscious matter.

The Subtle Knife: also known as teleutai makhaira, the last knife of all, or the god destroyer, an object of extraordinary and devasting power with the ability to cut invisible "windows" that can be used as gateways between worlds. The other side of the knife can be used to cut and kill anything including angels.