Technobabble

Technobabble (a portmanteau of technology and babble), also called technospeak, is a form of jargon that uses buzzwords, language, specialized technical terms, or technical slang that is incomprehensible to the listener. Various fields of practice and industry have their own specialized vocabularies, or jargon, that allow those educated within that industry to concisely convey ideas that may be confusing, misleading, or nonsensical to an outside listener. The difference between technobabble and jargon lies with the intent of the user and the audience: a dishonest person might use overly technical (and often meaningless) language to overwhelm and confuse the audience, masking their dishonesty, while a fiction writer might use it to cover plot holes or to invoke suspension of disbelief of story elements that defy current understandings of science and technology. Use of jargon within technical circles and with no intent to obfuscate is not usually included in the definition of technobabble.

Authors and others who wish to convey a feeling of technical sophistication may write or talk in technobabble. They may use jargon without considering what it actually means to give an impression that they know things that their readers or listeners do not. However, if the jargon is decoded, it becomes apparent that the originator does not really understand what has been said or is deliberately being unclear. When used in this way, technobabble is considered pretentious and often unacceptable. If done carelessly, even novice listeners can often detect subtle signs of dishonesty and insincerity.

Technobabble's principal use in most science fiction, in particular more hard science fiction, is to conceal the true (impossible) nature of materials, technologies, or devices mentioned in the story, frequently because of a violation regarding the current understanding of the laws of physics. As reality and somewhat serious projections about the future are important in hard sci-fi, technobabble can give the impression of new discoveries rendering our current understanding of how the universe works "wrong". For example, despite the implications of the Special Theory of Relativity on faster than light travel, it can be done via wormholes—technobabble provides an "enabling device" to provide the impression that this current understanding was "limited" or "flawed" without actually having to explain how or why.

...
Wikipedia