first

1. preceding all others in numbering or counting order; the ordinal number of one. Often written: 1st

2. denoting the lowest forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle

3. Music

a. denoting the highest part assigned to one of the voice parts in a chorus or one of the sections of an orchestra

b. denoting the principal player in a specific orchestral section

4. Education chiefly Brit an honours degree of the highest class

5. the lowest forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle; low gear

6. Music

a. the highest part in a particular section of a chorus or orchestra

b. the instrument or voice taking such a part

c. the chief or leading player in a section of an orchestra; principal

7. Music a rare word for prime

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

FIRST

Abbrev. for Far Infrared and Submillimeter Space Telescope. An orbiting telescope under design for ESA and at present scheduled for launch in 2007. It will be used primarily for interstellar spectroscopic studies. FIRST is at present considered to be a 4.5-meter radiatively cooled infrared (Cassegrain) telescope. It will feed two or three instruments working at wavelengths from about 100 μm to 1 mm and giving high spectral and angular resolution. A direct imaging Fabry–Perot interferometer (operating at 85–180 μm), a heterodyne detector (200–600 μm), and a multiband imaging bolometric system (70 μm up to maybe 1.2 mm) are under consideration; these will require active cooling. See also Horizon 2000.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

FIRST

(Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams) Founded in 1990, FIRST coordinates the efforts of dozens of CERTs, mostly governmental, from around the world. See CERT.

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