If you’ve never visited TVTropes.org, you should definitely check it out. The site is a wiki focused on the frequently used storytelling devices found in media like TV, comics, and movies. It’s a very fascinating site and it can consume a lot of your time because you just keep reading one entertaining thing after another. You can view the site by tropes and see examples of TV shows or movies that used the mechanism or you can find a show that you like and see which devices they use with specific examples and episode references.
One example of an entry is the term ‘Techno Babble‘.
Any impressive- and scientific-sounding, but ultimately nonsensical utterance.
Most common in Science Fiction (usually the softer kind), but military, medical and Police Proceduralthemed shows can also use it when they want the underlying technology to sound impressive.
Can be used to explain or justify plot developments or simply to add to the genre feel. Comes from the fact that scientific language, despite being meant to allow for easier understanding between scientists, sounds flashy and arcane to the untrained ear.
For a long list of examples that insult our intelligence in order to make their plot sound more plausible, read the examples listed at the bottom of the article. It’s a pretty good read, like everything on TVTropes.
As a painful example of Techno Babble, here is the CBS show Numb3rs’ explanation of IRC: