Electronics
Terms related to electronics, including definitions about electrical components and words and phrases about computers, laptops parts, digital cameras, televisions and home appliances.RAC - X86
- raceway - A raceway is an enclosed conduit that forms a physical pathway for electrical wiring and protect wires and cables from heat, corrosion, water intrusion and other environmental threats.
- radio frequency (RF, rf) - Radio frequency (RF) is a measurement representing the oscillation rate of electromagnetic radiation spectrum, or electromagnetic radio waves, from frequencies ranging from 300 GHz to as low as 9 kHz.
- random numbers - As the term suggests, a random number is a number chosen by chance -- i.
- reactance - Reactance is a form of opposition generated by components in an electric circuit when alternating current (AC) passes through it.
- rechargeable battery - Rechargeable batteries allow for multiple usages from a cell, reducing waste and generally providing a better long-term investment in terms of dollars spent for usable device time.
- resistance - Resistance is the opposition that a substance offers to the flow of electric current; the term contrasts with conductance, which is a measure of the ease with which current flows through a substance.
- resistor - A resistor is an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical current in an electronic circuit.
- resolution - Resolution is the number of pixels -- picture elements or individual points of color -- that can be contained on a display screen or in a camera sensor.
- resonance charging - Resonance charging is a wireless charging method for items that require large amounts of power, such as an electric car, robot, vacuum cleaner or laptop computer.
- RFID tagging - RFID tagging uses small radio frequency identification devices to track and identify objects.
- RGB (red, green and blue) - RGB (red, green and blue) refers to a system representing the colors used on a digital display screen.
- robot - A robot is a machine designed to execute one or more tasks automatically with speed and precision.
- S-Video (Super-Video, Y/C Video, component video) - S-Video (Super-Video, sometimes referred to as Y/C Video, or component video) is a video signal transmission in which the luminance signal and the chrominance signal are transmitted separately to achieve superior picture clarity.
- scanner - A scanner is a device that captures images from photographic prints, posters, magazine pages and similar sources for computer editing and display.
- screen door effect - The screen door effect is the occurrence of thin, dark lines or a mesh appearance caused by the gaps between pixels on a screen or projected image.
- Seebeck effect - The Seebeck effect is a phenomenon in which a temperature difference between two dissimilar electrical conductors or semiconductors produces a voltage difference between the two substances.
- semiconductor - A semiconductor is a substance that has specific electrical properties that enable it to serve as a foundation for computers and other electronic devices.
- semiconductor fab - A semiconductor fab -- short for fabrication -- is a manufacturing plant in which raw silicon wafers are turned into integrated circuits (ICs).
- sensor - A sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment.
- Serial ATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or SATA) - Serial ATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or SATA) is a command and transport protocol that defines how data is transferred between a computer's motherboard and mass storage devices, such as hard disk drives (HDDs), optical drives and solid-state drives (SSDs).
- serial peripheral interface (SPI) - A serial peripheral interface (SPI) is an interface commonly used in computers and embedded systems to facilitate short-distance communication between a microcontroller and one or more peripheral integrated circuits (ICs).
- servo (servomechanism) - A servo or servomechanism is an electromagnetic device that converts electricity into precise controlled motion by use of negative feedback mechanisms.
- seven wastes - The seven wastes are categories of unproductive manufacturing practices identified by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
- shift register - A shift register is a digital memory circuit found in calculators, computers, and data-processing systems.
- siemens (mho) - (Siemens AG is a German company engaged in electrical engineering and electronics.
- single-level cell (SLC) flash - Single-level cell (SLC) flash is a type of solid-state storage that stores one bit of data per cell of flash media.
- soap opera effect (motion interpolation) - The soap opera effect is the colloquial name for a visual effect caused by motion interpolation on television sets that some people find undesirable.
- solar cooling - Solar cooling is a system that converts heat from the sun into cooling that can be used for refrigeration and air conditioning.
- solar power - Solar power is a renewable form of energy harvested from the sun for the purpose of producing electricity or thermal energy (heat).
- solid - A solid is a state of matter that retains its shape and density when not confined.
- solid-state - Solid-state is a common descriptor used to refer to electronic components, devices and systems based entirely on semiconductor materials such as silicon, germanium or gallium arsenide.
- solid-state storage - Solid-state storage (SSS) is a type of computer storage media made from silicon microchips.
- sound card - A sound card is a computer component responsible for generating and recording audio.
- sound wave - A sound wave is the pattern of disturbance caused by the movement of energy traveling through a medium (such as air, water or any other liquid or solid matter) as it propagates away from the source of the sound.
- space - Space is a term that can refer to various phenomena in science, mathematics and computing and generally encompasses the concept of an area or region.
- SRAM (static random access memory) - SRAM (static RAM) is a type of random access memory (RAM) that retains data bits in its memory as long as power is being supplied.
- stack pointer - A stack pointer is a small register that stores the memory address of the last data element added to the stack or, in some cases, the first available address in the stack.
- standard temperature and pressure (STP) - Standard temperature and pressure (STP) refers to the nominal conditions in the atmosphere at sea level.
- standing wave ratio (SWR) - Standing wave ratio (SWR) is the ratio of the maximum magnitude or amplitude of a standing wave to its minimum magnitude.
- state of charge (SOC) - The state of charge (SOC) is a measurement of the amount of energy available in a battery at a specific point in time.
- Stefan-Boltzmann constant - The Stefan-Boltzmann constant, symbolized by the lowercase Greek letter sigma (σ), is a physical constant expressing the relationship between the heat radiation emitted by a black body and its absolute temperature.
- stereoscopy (stereoscopic imaging) - Stereoscopy, sometimes called stereoscopic imaging, is a technique used to enable a three-dimensional effect, adding an illusion of depth to a flat image.
- superconductivity - Superconductivity is the ability of certain materials to conduct a direct electric current (DC) with practically zero resistance.
- tablet (tablet PC) - A tablet is a wireless, portable personal computer with a touchscreen interface.
- teleoperations (telerobotics) - Teleoperation, also called telerobotics, is the technical term for the remote control of a robot.
- thyristor - A thyristor is a four-layer semiconductor device, consisting of alternating P-type and N-type materials (PNPN).
- toroid - A toroid is a coil of insulated or enameled wire wound on a donut-shaped form made of powdered iron.
- torque - Torque is a twisting or turning force that tends to cause rotation around an axis; it can also be thought of as the ability of something that is rotating, such as a gear or a shaft, to overcome turning resistance.
- touch screen - A touch screen is an electronic display screen that is also an input device.
- transconductance - Transconductance is an expression of the performance of a bipolar transistoror field-effect transistor (FET).
- transducer - A transducer is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another.
- Transistor - A transistor is a miniature semiconductor that regulates or controls current or voltage flow.
- transistor-to-transistor logic (TTL) - Transistor-to-transistor logic -- also known as simply transistor-transistor logic or TTL -- is a family of digital logic design built from a family of bipolar junction transistors that act on direct-current pulses.
- transponder - A transponder is a wireless communication, monitoring or control device that picks up and automatically responds to an incoming signal.
- virtual assistant (AI assistant) - A virtual assistant, also called an AI assistant or digital assistant, is an application program that understands natural language voice commands and completes tasks for the user.
- volt-ampere (VA) - A volt-ampere (VA) is a measurement of power in a direct current (DC) electrical circuit.
- voltage - Voltage, also called electromotive force, is a quantitative expression of the potential difference in charge between two points in an electrical field.
- voltage reference - A voltage reference is an electronic component or circuit that produces a constant DC (direct-current) output voltage regardless of variations in external conditions such as temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, current demand, or the passage of time.
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive - The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is a legislative act that the European Union adopted to address the growing amounts of e-waste that come from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) at the end of its life.
- water cooling - Water cooling, also called liquid cooling, is a method used to lower the temperature of computer processor units (CPUs), and sometimes graphics processor units (GPUs).
- watt - A watt (symbolized W) is the standard unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI).
- watt-hour (Wh) - The watt-hour, which is symbolized Wh, is a unit of energy equivalent to one watt of power expended for one hour of time.
- wave number - A wave number, or wavenumber, refers to the spatial frequency of a wave over a specific unit distance.
- wavelength - Wavelength is the distance between identical points (adjacent crests) in the adjacent cycles of a waveform signal propagated in space or along a wire.
- wind turbine - A wind turbine is a power generating device that is driven by the kinetic energy of the wind.
- wireless charging - Wireless charging is any of several methods of charging batteries without the use of cables.
- x86-64 - x86-64 (also called x86_64, x64, or amd64) is the 64-bit CPU architecture that is used in Intel and AMD processors.