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Single-electron pump

A single-electron pump is a nanoscale quantum device that moves one electron per cycle, producing a quantized current I = ef for realizing the ampere.

Single-electron transistor

A single-electron transistor is a nanoscale three-terminal device where electrons tunnel one at a time through a small conductive island, or quantum dot, with a gate controlling the island's potential.

Single-electron transmetalation in cross-coupling

Single-electron transmetalation is a cross-coupling mechanism in which an organometallic reagent releases a carbon radical that a metal catalyst captures to form the carbon–metal bond.

Single-electron turnstile

A single-electron turnstile is a nanoscale electronic device that passes exactly one electron per cycle of an applied AC gate voltage, so the current I = ef is locked to the drive frequency.

Single-elimination tournament

Single-elimination (knockout) tournament: bracket format where each match's loser is eliminated. Used by NCAA March Madness (76 teams from 2027) and the FIFA World Cup knockout stage; compared with round-robin, Swiss-system, and double elimination.

Single-engine pusher aircraft

A single-engine pusher aircraft has its engine and propeller at the rear, pushing rather than pulling, a layout common in early aircraft and today's ultralights and UAVs.

Single-entity electrochemistry

Single-entity electrochemistry, first defined at a 2016 Royal Society of Chemistry Faraday Discussion, measures electrochemical signals from individual nanoparticles, proteins, vesicles, or cells rather than ensemble averages.

Single-event upset

A single-event upset is a soft error in which one energetic particle, such as a cosmic ray, flips a bit in semiconductor memory without damaging the chip.

Single-family detached home

A single-family detached home, also called a detached house, is a free-standing residence standing alone on its own lot, the dominant housing type in the United States.

Single-frequency network

A single-frequency network (SFN) is a broadcast network in which several transmitters cover an area on one frequency channel, sending the same synchronized signal so receivers treat overlaps as echoes.

Single-ion conducting polymer electrolyte

Single-ion conducting polymer electrolytes (SICPEs) are solid polymer electrolytes in which anions are immobilized, giving a cation transference number near 1, pursued mainly for solid-state lithium-metal batteries.

Single-issue politics

Single-issue politics: voting, lobbies, or parties organized around one policy question, grounded in Converse's issue-publics concept, single-issue parties like the Prohibition Party, and measured issue salience in elections.

Single-lens reflex camera

A single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is a camera that lets the photographer view, focus, and expose through one lens using a movable mirror, eliminating parallax error.

Single-level cell

Single-level cell (SLC) is a NAND flash memory technology that stores one bit per cell, delivering the highest endurance and performance among NAND types at the highest cost per bit.

Single-line diagram

A single-line diagram, also called a one-line diagram, is a simplified drawing of an electrical power system that shows power flow with single lines and standard symbols.

Single-member district

Single-member district: an electoral district electing exactly one legislator, usually by plurality. Used by the US, UK, Canada; promotes two-party politics but disproportionality and gerrymandering.

Single-minute exchange of die

The single-minute exchange of die (SMED) is a lean manufacturing setup-reduction method developed by Shigeo Shingo at Toyota that aims to cut machine changeover times below ten minutes.

Single-mode optical fiber

Single-mode optical fiber, also called monomode fiber or SMF, is an optical fiber that guides only one propagation mode, using it for long-haul, high-data-rate communications.

Single-molecule AFM with CO-functionalized tips

Single-molecule AFM with CO-functionalized tips is a form of atomic force microscopy, introduced at IBM Zurich in 2009, that images individual atoms and chemical bonds within one molecule.

Single-molecule diode

A single-molecule diode is an electronic device in which a single molecule between two electrodes allows current in one bias direction and largely blocks it in the reverse direction.

Single-molecule DNA dynamics in extensional flow

Single-molecule DNA dynamics in extensional flow is the study of how individual DNA molecules stretch and relax in flows that pull fluid apart, observed by fluorescence microscopy.

Single-molecule electronics

Single-molecule electronics is a subfield of nanoelectronics in which electronic components are individual molecules wired between electrodes, studied since Aviram and Ratner proposed a molecular rectifier in 1974.

Single-molecule electrophysiology

Single-molecule electrophysiology detects individual molecules and their motion by measuring ionic current modulation through a nanoscale pore, and includes the SPRNT method, which tracks enzymes with picometer resolution.

Single-molecule experiment

A single-molecule experiment is a laboratory measurement of one individual molecule rather than an ensemble average, using techniques like optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers, atomic force microscopy, and single-molecule FRET.

Single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization

Single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) is a molecular biology method that counts individual RNA molecules in fixed cells using many short fluorescent probes, making each transcript a visible spot.

Single-molecule fluorescence microscopy

Single-molecule fluorescence microscopy is a set of light-microscopy techniques that detect and analyze the fluorescence of individual molecules, enabling live-cell imaging, super-resolution methods like PALM and STORM, and single-particle catalysis studies.

Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy

Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy (SMFS) is a set of optical techniques that detect light from individual fluorescent molecules, revealing distributions and rare events hidden by ensemble averages.

Single-molecule force spectroscopy

Single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is a set of techniques that apply controlled mechanical force to individual molecules, probing their unfolding, extension, and bond rupture with piconewton and nanometer resolution.

Single-molecule FRET

Single-molecule FRET (SmFRET) is a biophysical technique measuring energy transfer between two dyes on a single biomolecule, revealing nanometer distances and conformational dynamics without ensemble averaging.

Single-molecule light-emitting diode

A single-molecule light-emitting diode (SM-LED) is a device in which a single molecule between two electrodes emits light as current passes, the molecular-scale limit of the OLED.