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 Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630


absolute zero
Lowest temperature theoretically possible according to kinetic theory, zero kelvin (0 K), equivalent to -273.15°C/-459.67°F, at which molecules are in their lowest energy state. Although the third law of thermodynamics indicates the impossibility of reaching absolute zero, in practice temperatures of less than a billionth of a...

abortion
Ending of a pregnancy before the fetus is developed sufficiently to survive outside the uterus. Loss of a fetus at a later stage is termed premature stillbirth. Abortion may be natural (miscarriage) or deliberate (termination of pregnancy). Deliberate termination In the first nine weeks of pregnancy, medical termination may be carried out using the...

absorption
In physics, taking up of matter or energy of one substance by another, such as a liquid by a solid (ink by blotting paper) or a gas by a liquid (ammonia by water). In physics, absorption is the phenomenon by which a substance retains the energy of radiation of particular wavelengths; for example, a piece of blue glass absorbs all visible light ...

abdomen
In vertebrates, the part of the body below the thorax, containing the digestive organs; in insects and other arthropods, it is the hind part of the body. In mammals, the abdomen is separated from the thorax by the diaphragm, a sheet of muscular tissue; in arthropods, commonly by a narrow constriction. In mammals, the female reproductive org...

abstract art
Nonrepresentational art. Ornamental art without figurative representation occurs in most cultures. The modern abstract movement in sculpture and painting emerged in Europe and North America between 1910 and 1920. Two approaches produce different abstract styles: images that have been `abstracted` from nature to the point where they no...

abstract expressionism
Movement in US painting that was the dominant force in the country's art in the late 1940s and 1950s. It was characterized by the sensuous use of paint, often on very large canvases, to convey powerful emotions. Some of the artists involved painted pure abstract pictures, but others often retained figurative traces in their work. Most of the le...

Absurd, Theatre of the
Avant-garde drama originating with a group of dramatists in the 1950s, including Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Genet, and Harold Pinter. Their work expressed the belief that, in a godless universe, human existence has no meaning or purpose and all communication breaks down. Logical construction and argument gives way to irrational a...

Abu Bakr
Muslim caliph (civic and religious leader of Islam) from 632 to 34. Born Abd-al-Ka'aba, he adopted the name Abu Bakr (`Father of the virgin`) about 618 when the prophet Muhammad married his daughter Ayesha. He was a close adviser to Muhammad in 622–32 and succeeded the prophet as political leader at his death. As the firs...

Abu Dhabi
Sheikhdom in southwest Asia, on the Gulf, the largest of the seven United Arab Emirates. Its capital, Abu Dhabi, is also the capital of the United Arab Emirates; area 67,350 sq km/26,000 sq mi; population (2004 est) city 578,000; emirate 1,272,000. Formerly under British protection, it has been ruled since 1971 by Sheikh Sultan Zaye...

Abuja
Capital of Nigeria (formally designated as such 1982, although not officially recognized until 1992); population of Federal Capital District (1991 est) 378,700; population of city alone (1991 est) 107,100. Shaped like a crescent, the city was designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange; building of the city began in 1976 as a replacement...

Abu Simbel
Site of two ancient temples cut into the rock on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt during the reign of Rameses II, commemorating him and his wife Nefertari. The temples were moved in sections in 1966–67 and rebuilt 60 m/200 ft above their original location before the site was flooded by the waters of the Aswan High Dam

Abyssinia
Former name of Ethiopia

Abbey Theatre
Playhouse in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, associated with the literary revival of the early 1900s, that was part of a general cultural Irish revival. The theatre opened in 1904 and staged the works of a number of Irish dramatists, including Lady Gregory, W B Yeats, J M Synge, and Seán O'Casey. Burned down in 1951, the Abbey Theatre was reb...

aberration, optical
Any of a number of defects that impair the image in an optical instrument. Aberration occurs because of minute variations in lenses and mirrors, because no lens or mirror can perfectly focus all light rays entering the instrument at different angles, and (with lenses) because different parts of the l...

aberration of starlight
Apparent displacement of a star from its true position, due to the combined effects of the speed of light and the speed of the Earth in orbit around the Sun (about 30 kps/18.5 mps). During a year the apparent position of a star describes a curve around its true position. This curve is an ellipse ...

AAS
Abbreviation for American Arbitration Service, an independent organization that provides panels for industrial and commercial disputes

Aachen
Cathedral city and spa in the Land (state) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 64 km/40 mi southwest of Cologne, near the Dutch and Belgian borders; population (2003 est) 241,300. It has a thriving iron and steel industry; manufacturing includes electronics, glass, food, woollen textiles, rubber, and metal goods. ...

aardwolf
Nocturnal mammal Proteles cristatus of the hyena family, Hyaenidae. It is yellowish grey with dark stripes and, excluding its bushy tail, is around 70 cm/30 in long. It is found in eastern and southern Africa, usually in the burrows of the aardvark. It feeds almost exclusively on termites, eating up to 300,000 per day, but ma...

aardvark
Nocturnal mammal Orycteropus afer, the only species in the order Tubulidentata, found in central and southern Africa. A timid, defenceless animal about the size of a pig, it has a long head, a piglike snout, large ears, sparse body hair, a thick tail, and short legs. It can burrow rapidly with its clawed front feet. It spends the...

Aalto, Alvar
(Hugo Alvar Henrik) Finnish architect and designer. He was a pioneer of the Modern Movement in his native Finland. Initially working within the confines of the International Style, he later developed a unique architectural style, characterized by asymmetry, curved walls, and contrast of natura...

Abdullah, Sheikh Muhammad
Indian politician, known as the `Lion of Kashmir`. He headed the struggle for constitutional government against the Maharajah of Kashmir, and in 1948, following a coup, became prime minister. He agreed to the accession of the state to India, but was dismissed and imprisoned from 1953 (with brief intervals of freedom) until 1966, when he c...

Abd al-Hamid II
Last sultan of Turkey 1876–1909. In 1908 the Young Turks under Enver Pasha forced Abd al-Hamid to restore the constitution of 1876 and in 1909 insisted on his deposition. He died in confinement. For his part in the Armenian massacres suppressing the revolt of 1894–96 he was known as the `Great Assassin`; his actions stil...

Abbasid dynasty
Family of rulers of the Islamic empire, whose caliphs reigned in Baghdad 750–1258. They were descended from Abbas, the prophet Muhammad's uncle, and some of them, such as Harun al-Rashid and Mamun (reigned 813–33), were outstanding patrons of cultural development. Later their power dwindled, and in 1258 Baghdad was burned by the T...

Abbas I, the Great
Shah of Persia from 1587. He expanded Persian territory by conquest, defeating the Uzbeks near Herat in 1597 and also the Turks. At his death his empire reached from the River Tigris to the Indus River. He was a patron of the arts

Abadan
Iranian oil port in Khuzestan province, situated on an island on the east side of the Shatt-al-Arab waterway at the head of the Gulf, 675 km/420 mi southwest of Tehran; population (2006) 219,800. Abadan is the chief refinery and shipping centre for Iran's oil industry, nationalized in 1951. This measure was the beginning of the ...

abacus
Ancient calculating device made up of a frame of parallel wires on which beads are strung. The method of calculating with a handful of stones on a `flat surface` (Latin abacus) was familiar to the Greeks and Romans, and used by earlier peoples, possibly even in ancient Babylon; it survives in the more sophisticated ...

abyssal zone
Dark ocean region 2,000–6,000 m/6,500–19,500 ft deep; temperature 4°C/39°F. Three-quarters of the area of the deep-ocean floor lies in the abyssal zone, which is too far from the surface for photosynthesis to take place. Some fish and crustaceans living there are blind or have their own light sources. The reg...

abbey
Click images to enlargeIn the Christian church, a building or group of buildings housing a community of monks or of nuns, all dedicated to a life of celibacy and religious seclusion, governed by an abbot or abbess respectively. The word is also applied to a building that was once the church of an abbey; for example, W...

Abidjan
Port and former capital (until 1983) of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire; population (2001 est) 2,900,400. As well as having a modern deepwater port, the city is served by an international airport (Port-Bouët) and communication by rail, as well as by sea. The city has become increasingly important for its industries, which includ...

abominable snowman
Legendary creature, said to resemble a human, with long arms and a thickset body covered with reddish-grey hair. Reports of its existence in the Himalayas have been made since 1832, and they gained substance from a published photograph of a huge footprint in the snow in 1951. No further `evidence` has been found. According to local le...

aborigine
Any indigenous inhabitant of a region or country. The word often refers to the original peoples of areas colonized by Europeans, and especially to Australian Aborigines

Aboukir Bay, Battle of
Naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars between Great Britain and France, in which Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet at the Egyptian seaport of Aboukir on 1 August 1798. The defeat put an end to French designs in the Middle East

abrasive
Substance used for cutting and polishing or for removing small amounts of the surface of hard materials. There are two types: natural and artificial abrasives, and their hardness is measured using the Mohs scale. Natural abrasives include quartz, sandstone, pumice, diamond, emery, and corundum; artificial abrasives include rouge, whiting, a...

Abruzzi
Mountainous region of southern central Italy, comprising the provinces of L'Aquila, Chieti, Pescara, and Teramo; area 10,798 sq km/4,169 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,244,200. The capital is L'Aquila, and other major towns include Pescara, Chieti, and Teramo. Gran Sasso d'Italia, 2,914 m/9,564 ft, is the highest point o...

Abdullah I, Abdullah ibn Hussein
King of Jordan 1946–51. In 1921, after the collapse of the Ottoman empire, he became emir of the British mandate of Transjordan, covering present-day Jordan, and became king when the mandate ended in May 1946. In May 1948 King Abdullah attacked the newly established state of Israel, capturing large areas. He retained the area called the We...

Abel
In the Old Testament (Genesis 4), the second son of Adam and Eve; as a shepherd, he made burnt offerings of meat to God which were more acceptable than the fruits offered by his brother Cain; he was killed by the jealous Cain. This was the first death recounted in the Bible

Aberystwyth
Commercial, tourist, and educational centre in Ceredigion, mid-Wales, situated at the mouths of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol in Cardigan Bay; population (2001) 15,900. It is the site of the University College of Wales (1872), which dominates the town, and during term time the population swells to around 20,000 (2000 est). Aberystwyth is t...

Abraham, Plains of
Plateau near Québec, Canada, where the British commander Wolfe defeated the French under Montcalm, on 13 September 1759, during the French and Indian War (1756–63). The outcome of the battle established British supremacy in Canada

abalone
Edible marine snail of the worldwide genus Haliotis, family Haliotidae. Abalones have flattened, oval, spiralled shells, which have holes around the outer edge and a bluish mother-of-pearl lining. This lining is used in ornamental work

absolutism
(government) System of government in which the ruler or rulers have unlimited power and are subject to no constitutional safeguards or checks. The principle of an absolute monarch, given a right to rule by God (the divine right of kings), was extensively used in Europe during the 17th and 18th...

abscission
In botany, the controlled separation of part of a plant from the main plant body – most commonly, the falling of leaves or the dropping of fruit controlled by abscissin. In deciduous plants the leaves are shed before the winter or dry season, whereas evergreen plants drop their leaves continually throughout the year. Fruitdrop, the abscission ...

abolitionism
A movement culminating in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed first to end the slave trade, and then to abolish the institution of slavery and emancipate slaves. The movement took place in Europe, mainly in the UK, and in the USA. Slavery was never widespread within the UK, but many UK citizens were involved with the slave trade and s...

abscess
Collection of pus in solid tissue forming in response to infection. Its presence is signalled by pain and inflammation

Abbott and Costello
US comedy duo. Having formed a successful vaudevillian stage act during the 1930s, Abbott and Costello went on to make a number of films together that showcased their routines between 1940 and 1956. With Costello as the comedian and Abbott in the role of straight man, the couple proved to be a major box-office attraction. They became well-k...

absolute value
In mathematics, the value, or magnitude, of a number irrespective of its sign. The absolute value of a number n is written

Abkhazia
Autonomous republic in northwestern Georgia; area 8,600 sq km/3,320 sq mi; population (1993 est) 516,600. The region is located between the main range of the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, with a subtropical climate on the latter's shores, and with densely wooded foothills. Most of the population, including that of the capita...

ablution
Washing for a religious purpose. For example, Hindus wash before praying, preferably in running water, and washing in certain rivers, especially the Ganges, is believed to give spiritual benefit. Muslims wash themselves (wudu) before prayers, but this is seen as a mark of respect for God and a prepar...

abdication crisis
In British history, the constitutional upheaval of the period 16 November 1936 to 10 December 1936, brought about by the British king Edward VIII's decision to marry Wallis Simpson, a US divorcee. The marriage of the `Supreme Governor` of the Church of England to a divorced person was considered unsuitable and the king abdicated on 10...

abyssal plain
Broad, relatively flat expanse of sea floor lying 3–6 km/2–4 mi below sea level. Abyssal plains are found in all the major oceans, and they extend from bordering continental rises to mid-oceanic ridges. Abyssal plains are covered in a thick layer of sediment, and their flatness is punctuated by rugged low abyssal hills and high se...

Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan
Fifth caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, who reigned 685–705, based in Damascus. He waged military campaigns to unite Muslim groups and battled against the Greeks. He instituted a purely Arab coinage and replaced Syriac, Coptic, and Greek with Arabic as the language for his lands. His reign was turbulent but succeeded in extending and strengthenin...

Aboriginal art
Art of the Australian Aborigines. Traditionally almost entirely religious and ceremonial, it was directed towards portraying stories of the Dreamtime, a creation mythology reflecting the Aboriginal hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Perishable materials were used, as in bark painting and carved trees and logs, and few early works of this type survive. ...

abscissin
Plant hormone found in all higher plants. It is involved in the process of abscission and also inhibits stem elongation, germination of seeds, and the sprouting of buds

ablation
The loss of snow and ice from a glacier by melting and evaporation. It is the opposite of accumulation. Ablation is most significant near the snout (foot or end) of a glacier, since temperatures tend to be higher at lower altitudes. The rate of ablation also varies according to the time of year, being greatest during the summer. If total ablation e...

abrasion
(earth science) In earth science, type of erosion in which rock fragments scrape and grind away a surface. It is also known as corrasion. The rock fragments may be carried by rivers, wind, ice, or the sea. Striations, or grooves, on rock surfaces are common abrasions, caused by the scratching ...

abiotic factor
Non-living variable within the ecosystem, affecting the life of organisms. Examples include temperature, light, and water. Abiotic factors can be harmful to the environment, as when sulphur dioxide emissions from power stations produce acid rain

abscissa
In coordinate geometry, the x-coordinate of a point – that is, the horizontal distance of that point from the vertical or y-axis. For example, a point with the coordinates (4, 3) has an abscissa of 4. The y-coordinate of a poin...

abbreviation
Shortened form of a word or group of words, usually the initials (UN for United Nations, VIP for very important person). An abbreviation that is pronounced as a new word is an acronym (NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organization, radar for radio detecting and ranging; an abbreviation that uses the first and last letter of a word is a contractio...

Abba
(music) Swedish pop group 1973–81, one of the most successful groups in Europe during the 1970s. Their well-produced songs were characterized by the harmonies of the two female lead singers, and were aimed at a wide audience....

absolution
In Christianity, the authority of the church to pronounce God's forgiveness to a penitent sinner. The church acts as Christ's representative, and in so far as the church is filled with the Spirit of God, pronounces the judgement of God

Aberdeen
City in Aberdeen City unitary authority, Scotland, on the rivers Don and Dee, 120 km/75 mi north of Dundee; population (2001) 197,300. The third-largest city in Scotland, it is the administrative headquarters of both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire unitary authorities. The unitary authority was created in 1996 from the district of the s...

Abdullah II, Abdullah ibn Hussein
King of Jordan from 1999. Abdullah was crowned king of Jordan after his father, Hussein ibn Talal, who had ruled the Hashemite Kingdom since 1952, died. Abdullah, who was an army major general, and untested in the affairs of state, became the fourth leader of this small but strategically vital state. He promised to maintain Hussein's legacy, co...

Abu Zabi
Alternative form of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates

Abruzzo
Alternative name for Abruzzi, a mountainous region of southern central Italy

Abe, Shinzo
Japanese centre-right politician, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and prime minister 2006–2007. He became secretary-general of the ruling centre-right LDP in 2003 and president in 2006. He was Japan's youngest post-World War II prime minister and the first one to be born after the war. As prime minister, he wor...

acid rain
Acidic precipitation thought to be caused mainly by the release into the atmosphere of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which dissolve in pure rainwater making it acidic. Sulphur dioxide is formed by the burning of fossil fuels, such as...

acid
Click images to enlargeIn chemistry, compound that releases hydrogen ions (H+ or protons) in the presence of an ionizing solvent (usually water). Acids react with bases to form salts, and they act as solvents. Strong acids are corrosive; dilute acids have a sour or sharp taste, although in s...

acoustics
(physics) In general, the experimental and theoretical science of sound and its transmission; in particular, that branch of the science that has to do with the phenomena of sound in a particular space such as a room or theatre. In architecture, the sound-reflecting character of an inte...

actinium
White, radioactive, metallic element, the first of the actinide series, atomic number 89, relative atomic mass 227; it is a weak emitter of high-energy alpha particles. Actinium occurs with uranium and radium in pitchblende and other ores, and can be synthesized by bombarding radium with neutrons. The longest-lived isotope, Ac-227, ...

actinide
Any of a series of 15 radioactive metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 89 (actinium) to 103 (lawrencium). Elements 89 to 95 occur in nature; the rest of the series are synthesized elements only. Actinides are grouped together because of their chemical similarities (for example, they are all bivalent), the properties differing only sli...

acetylene
Common name for ethyne

actuary
Individual who calculates statistical risk, often using complex mathematical modelling. Actuaries are commonly employed in the insurance and pension industries where risk assumes great importance. Actuaries produce actuarial tables for underwriters and insurance brokers, who use them as a reference guide, for example for the calculation of life ins...

act of Parliament
In Britain, a change in the law originating in Parliament and called a statute. Before an act receives the royal assent and becomes law it is a bill. The US equivalent is an act of Congress. An act of Parliament may be either public (of general effect), local, or private. The body of English statute ...

act of God
Legal term meaning some sudden and irresistible act of nature that could not reasonably have been foreseen or prevented, such as floods or exceptionally high tides, storms, lightning, earthquakes, sharp frosts, or sudden death. Damage by such an occurrence may be attributed to the act of God, and in the absence of any contract to the contrary, no p...

act of Congress
In the USA, a bill or resolution passed by both houses of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives, which becomes law with the signature of the president. If vetoed by the president, it may still become law if it returns to Congress again and is passed by a majority of two-thirds in each house

Actium, Battle of
Naval battle in which Octavian defeated the combined fleets of Mark Antony and Cleopatra on 2 September 31 BC to become the undisputed ruler of the Roman world (as the emperor Augustus). The site of the battle is at Akri, a promontory in western Greece. Antony had encamped in Greece with a powerful force of infantry and cavalry, and was waiting for...

action painting
In abstract art, a form of abstract expressionism that emphasized the importance of the physical act of painting. It became widespread in the 1950s and 1960s. Jackson Pollock, the leading exponent, threw, dripped, and dribbled paint onto canvases fastened to the floor. He was known to attack his canvas with knives and trowels and bicycle over it. A...

action
(law) In law, one of the proceedings whereby a person or agency seeks to enforce rights or redress a wrong in a civil court

Acre
Former name of the Israeli seaport of Akko

acropolis
Citadel of an ancient Greek town. The Acropolis of Athens contains the ruins of the Parthenon and surrounding complexes, built there during the days of the Athenian em pire. The term is also used for analogous structures. The Acropolis of Athens stands on a rock about 45 m/150 ft high, 350 m/1,150 ft long, and 150 m/500 ft broad. The fir...

acquittal
In law, the setting free of someone charged with a crime after a trial

acre
Traditional English land measure equal to 4,840 square yards (4,047 sq m/0.405 ha). Originally meaning a field, it was the area that a yoke of oxen could plough in a day. As early as Edward I's reign, the acre was standardized by statute for official use, although local variations in Ireland, Scotland, and some English counties continued. I...

acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Full name for the disease AIDS

acne
Skin eruption, mainly occurring among adolescents and young adults, caused by inflammation of the sebaceous glands, which secrete an oily substance (sebum), the natural lubricant of the skin. Sometimes the openings of the glands become blocked, causing the formation of pus-filled swellings. Teenage acne is seen mainly on the face, back, and che...

Achilles
Greek hero of Homer's Iliad. He was the son of Peleus, King of the Myrmidons in Thessaly, and of the sea nymph Thetis who, by dipping him in the River Styx, rendered him invulnerable, except for the heel by which she held him. Achilles killed Hector at the climax of the Iliad, and according to subsequent Gr...

acquired character
Feature of the body that develops during the lifetime of an individual, usually as a result of repeated use or disuse, such as the enlarged muscles of a weightlifter. French naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck's theory of evolution assumed that acquired characters were passed from parent to offspring. Modern evolutionary theory does not recognize ...

acclimation
Physiological changes induced in an organism by exposure to new environmental conditions. When humans move to higher altitudes, for example, the number of red blood cells rises to increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood in order to compensate for the lower levels of oxygen in the air. In evolutionary terms, the ability to acclimate i...

Achaean League
Union in 280 BC of most of the cities of the northern Peloponnese, which managed to defeat Sparta, but was itself defeated by the Romans in 146 BC

Achebe, Chinua
Nigerian novelist. His themes include the social and political impact of European colonialism on African people, and the problems of newly independent African nations. His best-known work is the influential Things Fall Apart (1958), one of the first African novels to achieve a global reputation. His other novels include
Achaea
In ancient Greece, an area of the northern Peloponnese. The Achaeans were the predominant society during the Mycenaean period and are said by Homer to have taken part in the siege of Troy. The larger Roman province of Achaea was created after the defeat of the Achaean League in 146 BC; it included all mainland Greece south of a line drawn from ...

Accra
Capital and port of Ghana; population (2002 est) 1,605,400. It is an important political, commercial, and administrative centre. The port trades in cacao, gold, diamonds, and timber; the leading industries are vehicle assembly, textiles, plastics, and pharmaceuticals; other industries include light engineering, brewing, and tobacco and ...

accordion
Musical instrument of the free-reed organ type, comprising left and right wind chests connected by flexible, pleated bellows. The accordionist's right hand plays the melody on a piano-style keyboard of 26–34 keys, while the left hand has a system of push buttons for selecting single notes or chord harmonies. It was patented under t...

accomplice
In law, a person who acts with another in the commission or attempted commission of a crime, either as a principal or as an accessory

accessory
In law, a criminal accomplice who aids in the commission of a crime committed by someone else. An accomplice may be either `before the fact` (assisting, ordering, or procuring another to commit a crime) or `after the fact` (giving assistance after the crime). An accomplice present when the crime is committed is an abettor

achene
Dry, one-seeded fruit that develops from a single ovary and does not split open to disperse the seed. Achenes commonly occur in groups – for example, the fruiting heads of buttercup Ranunculus and clematis. The outer surface may be smooth, spiny, ribbed, or tuberculate, depending on the species

accent
(spoken) Way of speaking that identifies a person with a particular country, region, language, social class, or some mixture of these. Accent refers to features of pronunciation; variations from standard grammar and vocabulary are dialects. People often describe only those who belong to gr...

acrostic
A number of lines of writing, usually verse, whose initial letters (read downwards) form a word, phrase, or sentence. A single acrostic is formed by the initial letters of lines only; a double acrostic is formed by the first and last letters

acronym
(language) Word formed from the initial letters and/or syllables of other words, intended as a pronounceable abbreviation; for example, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), radar (radio detecting and ranging), RAM (random-access memory) and FORTRAN (formula translation). Ther...

accelerator
In physics, a device to bring charged particles (such as protons and electrons) up to high speeds and energies, at which they can be of use in industry, medicine, and pure physics. At low energies, accelerated particles can be used to produce the image on a television screen and (by means of a cathod...

aclinic line
Magnetic equator, an imaginary line near the Equator, where a compass needle balances horizontally, the attraction of the north and south magnetic poles being equal

accelerated freeze drying
Common method of food preservation, in which foodstuffs are quickly frozen and then subjected to reduced atmospheric pressure to cause the ice in them to sublimate (turn into water vapour). See food technology