The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning "
thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including:
Astronomy
*
Galaxy filament
In cosmology, galaxy filaments (subtypes: supercluster complexes, galaxy walls, and galaxy sheets) Boris V. Komberg, Andrey V. Kravtsov, Vladimir N. Lukash; "The search and investigation of the Large Groups of Quasars" ; ;R.G. Clowes; "Large Qu ...
, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe
* Solar filament, a
solar prominence
A prominence, sometimes referred to as a filament, is a large plasma and magnetic field structure extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere, and extend outw ...
seen against the disc of the sun
Biology
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Myofilament
Myofilaments are the three protein filaments of myofibrils in muscle cells. The main proteins involved are myosin, actin, and titin. Myosin and actin are the ''contractile proteins'' and titin is an elastic protein. The myofilaments act togethe ...
, filaments of myofibrils constructed from proteins
*
Protein filament
In biology, a protein filament is a long chain of protein monomers, such as those found in hair, muscle, or in flagella. Protein filaments form together to make the cytoskeleton of the cell. They are often bundled together to provide support, st ...
, a long chain of protein subunits, such as those found in hair or muscle
* Part of a
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
, the male part of a flower
*
Hypha
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium.
Structure
A hypha consists of one or ...
, a thread-like cell in fungi and Actinobacteria
*
Filamentation
Filamentation is the anomalous growth of certain bacteria, such as ''Escherichia coli'', in which cells continue to elongate but do not divide (no septa formation). The cells that result from elongation without division have multiple chromosomal c ...
, an elongation of individual bacterial cells
Textiles
*
Fiber
Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
, natural or manmade substances significantly longer than they are wide
*
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufact ...
(more loosely)
*
Filament fiber, fiber that comes in a continuous long length
Media
*
''Filament'' (magazine), a female-oriented erotica magazine
* 2002 movie by
Jinsei Tsuji
is a Tokyo-born Japanese writer, composer, and film director. In his film and singing work he uses the name Jinsei Tsuji, an alternative reading of the Japanese writing of his name. He debuted as a writer in 1989. His books and stories have be ...
*
Filament (band)
Filament is a musical group from Japan that consists of Otomo Yoshihide and Sachiko M, two of the major exponents of the electroacoustic improvisation style of music.
The two played as a duo for the first time on November 5, 1995 in London, but i ...
, a musical group from Japan
*
Filament Games
Filament Games is an American educational video game developer based in Madison, Wisconsin and founded in 2005 by partners Daniel White, Daniel Norton, and Alexander Stone. They are a design and production studio specializing in the creation of ...
, a Wisconsin-based educational video game developer
*
Filament Productions
Filament Productions is a production design and touring video company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, since 2005. It was founded by Fenton Williams, who was the first road manager for the Dave Matthews Band ("DMB"). During the early 1990s ...
, a production design and touring video company
Physics and engineering
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Electrical filament
An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxid ...
, in an incandescent light bulb
*
Heater filament
In vacuum tubes and gas-filled tubes, a hot cathode or thermionic cathode is a cathode electrode which is heated to make it emit electrons due to thermionic emission. This is in contrast to a cold cathode, which does not have a heating element. ...
, a thin heating element in a vacuum tube
*
Current filament
A current filament is an inhomogeneity in the current density distribution lateral to the direction of the current flow (that is, orthogonal to the current density vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magni ...
, a current restricted to a small part of the conducting medium
*
Filament propagation In nonlinear optics, filament propagation is propagation of a beam of light through a medium without diffraction. This is possible because the Kerr effect causes an index of refraction change in the medium, resulting in self-focusing of the beam.
F ...
, diffractionless propagation of a light beam
*
3D printing filament
3D printing filament is the thermoplastic feedstock for fused deposition modeling 3D printers. There are many types of filament available with different properties.
Filament comes in a range of diameters, most commonly 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm, with ...
, used as raw material in 3D printing
See also
*
Monofilament (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation