Phosphorescence – “The process in which energy absorbed by a substance is released relatively slowly in the form of light”

Bioluminescence – “The production and emission of light by a living organism. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms and terrestrial invertebrates. Some symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms produce light”

Glow stick -A see-through plastic tube containing isolated chemical substances that glow when combined. This process is usually activated by bending the tube and thus breaking the container of one of the substances. Glow sticks are mostly used at dance parties, but also for military or police operations, diving, and as emergency lights.

Faraday pointer – A laser pointer solely powered from kinetic energy produced by shaking the device. “When the device [is] agitated, a metal ball inside [sails] back and foth across a series of paddles and [powers] a tiny generator” (Brown, 61).

AAA battery – A standardized type of battery which is used to power portable electronic devices such as mp3-players, flashlights, remote controls, etc.

Kinetic energy – The type of energy an object has due to its motion. It changes whenever the speed of an object changes and the magnitude of kinetic energy possesses a quadratic relationship to its velocity, defined through the equation: Ekin=1/2m*v^2. The Faraday pointer and the device in the test tube convert kinetic energy into electricity.

Botticelli’s La Mappa dell’Inferno –

A parchment illustrating the nine circles of hell in Dante’s Inferno in the form of “the classical funnel section”. Botticelli worked on this piece of art between 1480 and 1490. This Map of Hell plays an important part in Dan Brown’s Inferno. The picture the device in the test tube portrays is an altered version of this piece and gives clues to finding Zobrist’s plague.

Primavera – A painting by Botticelli from the late 15th century depicting six female and four male mythological figures standing in a garden. The painting is originally untitled and only received its name by art historian Giorgio Vasari in 1550. It is currently in the Uffizi in Florence.

Inferno – This is the first part of Dante’s famous poem The Divine Comedy. It is the story of Dante’s path through the nine circles of hell. It has inspired many other great works of art such as Botticelli’s La Mappa dell’Inferno and is also a main theme in Dan Brown’s Inferno.

Email – Electronic Mail has existed since 1993 and is a form of communication on the Internet. One author with a unique email address sends out an email containing text, music, images and/or video files to one or more other unique email addresses, the recipients.

IP address – Every device using Internet Protocol is assigned a unique 128bit numerical code for purpose of identification. The IP address can be traced to the router through which the device is connected to the Internet and thus to a geographical location. Langdon checks his email without encrypting his IP address and is therefore tracked down by the provost.

SRS  – Paramilitary team of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control headed by Agent Brueder and working for the Dr. Sinskey and the World Health Organization. They are trying to help find the plague Zobrist has planted somewhere and track down Langdon after his memory loss, because they think he has turned on them.