Copy of `Talk Talk - Communication terms`
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Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630
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Orange OrderIn Northern Ireland, solely Protestant organization founded in County Armagh in 1795 in opposition to the Defenders, a Catholic secret society. It was a revival of the Orange Institution founded in 1688 to support William (III) of Orange, whose victory over the Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 has been commemorated annually by P...
OracleComputer software development company, founded by Larry Ellison in 1977, and originally specializing in database management systems. Oracle was initially known as Software Development Laboratories, and then as Relational Technologies. In the high-tech field, its shares are second in value only to those of Microsoft
Orthodox JudaismBranch of Judaism that asserts the supreme authority of the Torah and the Talmud, including the Halachah (oral legal tradition). Orthodox Jews form the majority in Judaism. Ultra-Orthodox sects include Hasidism, which developed in 18th-century Poland, and Lubavitch, which originated in Russia; both are influenced by the Kabbalah, a myst...
orthographic projectionDrawing that shows three faces of a design, all drawn to scale. The three sides shown are the top view (or plan view), the front view (or front elevation), and the end view (or end elevation). There are two common types of orthographic projection: first angle and third angle
OstrogothMember of a branch of the eastern Germanic people, the Goths
Oswald, StKing of Northumbria from 634, after killing the Welsh king Cadwallon. He became a Christian convert during exile on the Scottish island of Iona. With the help of St Aidan he furthered the spread of Christianity in northern England. Feast day 9 August. Oswald was defeated and killed by King Penda of Mercia
osierAny of several willow trees and shrubs, cultivated for their supple branches which are used in basket making; in particular,
S. viminalis. (Genus
Salix.)
OstiaAncient Roman town near the mouth of the Tiber. Founded about 330 BC, it was the port of Rome and had become a major commercial centre by the 2nd century AD. It was abandoned in the 9th century. The present-day seaside resort Ostia Mare is situated nearby
osteoporosisDisease in which the bone substance becomes porous and brittle. It is common in older people, affecting more women than men. It may be treated with calcium supplements and etidronate. Approximately 1.7 million people worldwide, mostly women, suffer hip fractures, mainly due to osteoporosis. A single gene was discovered in 1993 to have a major influ...
OstendSeaport and pleasure resort in West Flanders, Belgium; 108 km/67 mi northwest of Brussels; population (2006 est) 68,900. There are large docks, and the Belgian fishing fleet has its headquarters here. There are ferry links to Dover and Folkestone, England. It was occupied by the Germans 1...
OssianLegendary Gaelic hero and bard, claimed by both Ireland and Scotland. He is sometimes represented as the son of Finn Mac Cumhaill, in about AD 250, and as having lived to tell the tales of Finn and the Ulster heroes to St Patrick, in about 400. The publication in 1760 of James Macpherson's poems, attributed to Ossian, made Ossian's name fam...
OssetiaRegion in the Caucasus, on the border between Russia and Georgia, comprising the autonomous republic of Alania, formerly North Ossetia, and South Ossetia, an autonomous region of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Ossetes, descendants of the Alani people who speak the Iranian language Ossetic, and who were conquered by the Russians in 1801–6. Bot...
OsloIndustrial port and capital of Norway; population (2007 est) 548,600. The main industries are shipbuilding, textiles, electrical equipment, engineering, machine tools, timber, and food processing. The first recorded settlement was made in the 11th century by Harald III Hardrada, but after a fire in 1624, it was entirely replanned by the Danish ...
OsirisAncient Egyptian god, the embodiment of goodness, who ruled the underworld after being killed by Set. The pharaohs were believed to be his incarnation. The sister-wife of Osiris was Isis or Hathor; she miraculously conceived their son Horus after the death of Osiris, and he eventually captured his father's murderer
Osborne, John JamesEnglish dramatist. He became one of the first Angry Young Men (anti-establishment writers of the 1950s) of British theatre with his debut play,
Look Back in Anger (1956). Other plays include
The Entertainer (1957),
Luther (1960),
Inadmissible Evidence (1964), and
Osaka
Industrial port on the Pacific coast of Honshu island, Japan, 24 km/15 mi from Kobe; population (2000 est) 2,599,000. It is Japan's third-largest city. Industries include iron, steel, shipbuilding, chemicals, and textiles. Emperor Kotoku established it as a capital in 645. Osaka castle, built in 1583, was the scene of a siege in 161...
osmium
Hard, heavy, bluish-white, metallic element, atomic number 76, relative atomic mass 190.2. Together with the elements ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, iridium, and platinum, it forms the group of platinum metals, which have similar physical and chemical properties. It is resistant to tarnish and corrosion. It occurs in platinum ores and as a free...
ostrich
Large flightless bird. There is only one species, found in Africa. The male may be about 2.5 m/8 ft tall and weigh 135 kg/300 lb, and is the largest living bird. It has exceptionally strong legs and feet (two-toed) that enable it to run at high speed, and are also used in defence. It live...
osprey
Bird of prey, sometimes called `fish hawk` because it plunges feet first into the water to catch fish. It is dark brown above and a striking white below, and measures 60 cm/2 ft with a 2 m/6 ft wingspan. The nest is often built in trees near the seashore or lakeside, and two or three white eggs, blotched with crimson, are laid. Os...
ossification
Process whereby bone is formed in vertebrate animals by special cells (osteoblasts) that secrete layers of extracellular matrix on the surface of the existing cartilage. Conversion to bone occurs through the deposition of calcium phosphate crystals within the matrix
osmoregulation
Process whereby the water content of living organisms is maintained at a constant level. If the water balance is disrupted, the concentration of salts will be too high or too low, and vital functions, such as nerve conduction, will be adversely affected. In mammals, loss of water by evaporation is counteracted by increased intake and by mechanisms ...
osmosis
Click images to enlargeMovement of water through a partially (selectively) permeable membrane separating solutions of different concentrations. Water passes by diffusion from a weak solution (high water concentration) to a strong solution (low water concentration) until the two concentrations are equal. A membrane is part...
oscillograph
Instrument for displaying or recording rapidly changing oscillations, electrical or mechanical
Oscar II
King of Sweden and Norway 1872–1905, king of Sweden until 1907. He was the younger son of Oscar I, and succeeded his brother Charles XV. He tried hard to prevent the separation of his two kingdoms but relinquished the throne of Norway to Haakon VII in 1905
osteomyelitis
Infection of bone, with spread of pus along the marrow cavity. Now quite rare, it may follow from a compound fracture (where broken bone protrudes through the skin), or from infectious disease elsewhere in the body. It is more common in children whose bones are not yet fully grown. The symptoms are high fever, severe illness, and pain over the limb...
oscillating universe
In astronomy, theory stating that the gravitational attraction of the mass within the universe will eventually slow down and stop the expansion of the universe. The outward motions of the galaxies will then be reversed, eventually resulting in a `Big Crunch` where all the matter in the universe will be contracted into a small volume of hi...
ostinato
Musical pattern that is continuously repeated during a section or throughout a complete piece of music. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody. Ostinati play an important role in Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring (1913), Maurice Ravel's Boléro (1928), ...
Ossa, Mount
The highest peak on the island of Tasmania, Australia; height 1,617 m/5,250 ft
oscillator
(physics) Any device producing a desired oscillation (vibration). There are many types of oscillator for different purposes. These involve various arrangements of thermionic valves or components such as transistors, inductors, capacitors, and resistors. An oscillator is an essential part of a ...
oscillation
One complete to-and-fro movement of a vibrating object or system. For any particular vibration, the time for one oscillation is called its period and the number of oscillations in one second is called its frequency. The maximum displacement of the vibrating object from its rest position is ca...
osteopathy
System of alternative medical practice that relies on physical manipulation to treat mechanical stress. It was developed over a century ago by US physician Andrew Taylor Still, who maintained that most ailments can be prevented or cured by techniques of spinal manipulation. Osteopaths are generally consulted to treat problems of the musculo-ske...
oscilloscope
Another name for cathode-ray oscilloscope
Otho I
King of Greece 1832–62. As the 17-year-old son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, he was selected by the European powers as the first king of independent Greece. He was overthrown by a popular revolt
Ottoman Empire
Click images to enlargeMuslim empire of the Turks from 1300 to 1920, the successor of the Seljuk Empire. It was founded by Osman I and reached its height with Suleiman in the 16th century. From 1453 its capital city was Istamboul (Istanbul; formerly Constantinople). At its greatest extent the Ottoman Empire's boun...
Ottawa
Capital of Canada, in eastern Ontario, on the hills overlooking the Ottawa River, and divided by the Rideau Canal (1832) into the Upper (western) and Lower (eastern) towns; population (2001 est) 774,100, in a metropolitan area (with adjoining Hull, Québec) of 1,063,700. Industries include engineering, hi-tech and information technology...
Otis, Elisha Graves
US engineer who developed a lift that incorporated a safety device, making it acceptable for passenger use in the first skyscrapers. The device, invented in 1852, consisted of vertical ratchets on the sides of the lift shaft into which spring-loaded catches would engage and lock the lift in position in the event of cable failure
Otto cycle
Alternative name for the four-stroke cycle, introduced by the German engineer Nikolaus Otto (1832–1891) in 1876
otter
Click images to enlargeAny of various aquatic carnivores belonging to the weasel family, found on all continents except Australia. Otters have thick brown fur, short limbs, webbed toes, and long, compressed tails. They are social, playful, and agile
otitis
Inflammation of the ear. Otitis externa, occurring in the outer ear canal, is easily treated with antibiotics. Inflamed conditions of the middle ear (otitis media) or inner ear (otitis interna) are more serious, carrying the risk of deafness and infection of the brain. Treatment is with antib...
otosclerosis
Overgrowth of bone in the middle ear causing progressive deafness. This inherited condition is gradual in onset, developing usually before middle age. It is twice as common in women as in men. The middle ear cavity houses the sound-conduction mechanism called the ossicular chain, consisting of three tiny bones (ossicles) that magnify vibrations...
Otto I
Holy Roman Emperor from 962. He restored the power of the empire and asserted his authority over the pope and the nobles. His son, Liudolf, led a German rebellion allied with the Magyars, but Otto drew them from the siege of Augsburg (Bavaria) and ended the Magyar menace by his victory at Lechfeld in 955. He refounded the East Mark, or Austria, as ...
Otto IV
Holy Roman Emperor, elected in 1198. He was the son of Henry the Lion (1129–95), and was made Count of Poitou by his uncle, Richard (I) the Lionheart (1157–99). He clashed with Philip, Duke of Swabia, in rivalry for the empire. He engaged in controversy with Pope Innocent III (c. 1160–1216), and was defeated by the...
Othman
Alternative spelling of Uthman, third caliph of Islam
Othman I
Another name for the Turkish sultan Osman I
outlawry
In medieval England, a declaration that a criminal was outside the protection of the law, with his or her lands and goods forfeited to the crown, and all civil rights being set aside. It was a lucrative royal `privilege`; Magna Carta restricted its use, and under Edward III it was further modified. Some outlaws, such as Robin Hood, be...
outback
The inland region of Australia. Its main inhabitants are Aborigines, miners (including opal miners), and cattle ranchers. Its harsh beauty has been recorded by such artists as Sidney Nolan
ounce
(mass) Unit of mass, one-sixteenth of a pound avoirdupois, equal to 437.5 grains (28.35 g); also one-twelfth of a pound troy, equal to 480 grains
Ouse, Great
River that rises near Brackley in Northamptonshire, central England, and flows eastwards through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, before entering the Wash north of King's Lynn; length 250 km/160 mi. A large sluice across the Great Ouse, near King's Lynn, was built as part of extensive flood-control wor...
Oudh
Region of north India, now part of Uttar Pradesh state. An independent kingdom before it fell under Mogul rule, Oudh regained independence 1732–1856, when it was annexed by Britain. Its capital was Lucknow, centre of the Indian Mutiny 1857–58. In 1877 it was joined with Agra, from 1902 as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, renamed Utt...
Ouagadougou
Capital and industrial centre of Burkina Faso, and of Kadiogo Province; population (2002 est) 839,800. Industries include textiles, beverages, and the manufacture of vegetable oil products, especially soap. Its pre-eminence as a commercial centre is challenged by Bobo-Dioulasso. It was the capital of the Mossi empire from the 15th centu...
output device
Any device for displaying, in a form intelligible to the user, the results of processing carried out by a computer. Electronic output devices can be mechanical, audio, or visual. Mechanical outputs include motors, solenoids, and other electromagnetic devices. Audio outputs include buzzers, loudspeake...
ounce
(animal) Another name for the snow leopard
ouzel
Ancient name for the blackbird. The ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus) is similar to a blackbird, but has a white band across the breast. It is found in Europe in mountainous and rocky country. Water ouzel is another name for the dipper
OU
Abbreviation for Open University
outsider art
Work produced by artists who do not fit the traditional standards laid down by the dominant art establishments of an era. The power, influence, and position of such establishments enable them to decide what is acceptable as art in society. At various times throughout art history, groups such as women, ethnic minorities, peasants, and the lower clas...
Outer Hebrides
Group of islands that comprise that part of the Hebrides further from the west coast of mainland Scotland
out-of-town shopping
Purchasing activity provided for by the construction of a complex of shops situated out of a town or city centre. Since the 1980s in the UK and other parts of Western Europe, there has been a rapid growth of such complexes, which are usually close to main roads, providing easy access for shoppers fro...
Outlook Express
E-mail client and newsreader developed by the software supplier Microsoft. Included as part of earlier versions of the Internet Explorer web browser package built into the Windows operating system, it can connect to a variety of e-mail systems using simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), post office protocol 3 (POP3), internet message access...
overture
In music, the opening piece of a concert or opera. It has two roles: settling the audience before the main music starts, and allowing the conductor and musicians to become acquainted with the acoustics of a concert auditorium. See also prelude. The use of an overture in opera began during the 17th century; the `Italian` overture c...
overlander
One of the Australian drovers in the 19th century who opened up new territory by driving their cattle through remote areas to new stations, or to market, before the establishment of regular stock routes
ovary
Structure found in seed plants that develops into a seed after fertilization. It consists of an embryo sac containing the female gamete (ovum or egg cell), surrounded by nutritive tissue, the nucellus. Outside this there are one or two coverings that provide protection, developing into the testa, or ...
ovule
Structure found in seed plants that develops into a seed after fertilization. It consists of an embryo sac containing the female gamete (ovum or egg cell), surrounded by nutritive tissue, the nucellus. Outside this there are one or two coverings that provide protection, developing into the testa, or seed coat, following fertilization. In angiosperm...
oviparous
Method of animal reproduction in which eggs are laid by the female and develop outside the body, in contrast to ovoviviparous and viviparous. It is the most common form of reproduction
ovoviviparous
Method of animal reproduction in which fertilized eggs develop within the female (unlike oviparous), and the embryo gains no nutritional substances from the female (unlike viviparous). It occurs in some invertebrates, fishes, and reptiles
Ovid
Latin poet. His poetry deals mainly with the themes of love (Amores (20 BC), Ars amatoria/The Art of Love (1 BC)), mythology (Metamorphoses (AD 2)), and exile (Tristia (AD 9–12)). Born at Sulmo, Ovid studied rhetoric in Rome in preparation for a legal career, but s...
overdraft
In banking, a loan facility on a current account. It allows the account holder to overdraw on his or her account (take out more money than is in the account) up to a certain limit and for a specified time, and interest is payable on the amount borrowed. An overdraft is a cheaper form of borrowing than the credit options that major credit-card c...
ovulation
In female animals, the process of releasing egg cells (ova) from the ovary. In mammals it occurs as part of the menstrual cycle
overtone
Note that has a frequency or pitch that is a multiple of the fundamental frequency, the sounding body's natural frequency. Each sound source produces a unique set of overtones, which gives the source its quality or timbre
overfishing
Fishing at rates that exceed the sustained-yield cropping of fish species, resulting in a net population decline. For example, in the North Atlantic, herring has been fished to the verge of extinction, and the cod and haddock populations are severely depleted. In the developing world, use of huge factory ships, often by fisheries from industria...
overpopulation
Too many people for the resources available in an area (such as food, land, and water). The consequences were first set out by English economist Thomas Malthus at the start of the population explosion. Although there is often a link between overpopulation and population density, high densities do not always result in overpopulation. In many countri...
Ovett, Steve(n) Michael James
English middle-distance runner who won the 800-metre gold and the 1,500-metre bronze at the 1980 Olympics. He was also European 1,500-metre champion in 1978 and Commonwealth 5,000-metre champion in 1986. Career highlights Olympic Games gold 800 metres 1980; bronze 1,500 metres 1980 European Championships gold 1,500 metres 19...
Owen, Wilfred Edward Salter
English poet. His verse, owing much to the encouragement of English poet Siegfried Sassoon, is among the most moving of World War I poetry; it shatters the illusion of the glory of war, revealing its hollowness and the cruel destruction of beauty. Only four poems were published during his lifetime; he was killed in action a week before the ...
owl
Click images to enlargeAny of a group of mainly nocturnal birds of prey found worldwide. They have hooked beaks, heads that can turn quickly and far round on their very short necks, and forward-facing immobile eyes, surrounded by `facial discs` of rayed feathers; they fly silently and have an acute sense...
Owens, Jesse
US track and field athlete who excelled in sprints, hurdles, and the long jump. At the 1936 Berlin Olympics he won four gold medals. Career highlights Olympic Games gold 100 metres, 200 metres, 4 × 100-metre relay, long jump: 1936 The Nazi leader Hitler is said to have stormed out of the...
Owen, Michael James
English footballer. A striker of exceptional pace, he made his full England debut in February 1998 at the age of 18 years 59 days, and three months later became England's youngest ever goalscorer. He scored two goals in the 1998 World Cup finals, including what was widely regarded as the goal of the tournament against Argentina. In September 20...
Oxford Movement
Movement that attempted to revive Catholic religion in the Church of England. Cardinal Newman dated the movement from Keble's sermon in Oxford in 1833. The Oxford Movement by the turn of the century had transformed the Anglican communion, and survives today as Anglo-Catholicism
Oxford and Asquith, Earl of
Title of British Liberal politician Herbert Henry Asquith
oxide
Compound of oxygen and another element, frequently produced by burning the element or a compound of it in air or oxygen. Oxides of metals are normally bases and will react with an acid to produce a salt in which the metal forms the cation (positive ion). Some of them will also react with a strong alkali to produce a salt in which the metal is part ...
oxygen
Colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-metallic, gaseous element, atomic number 8, relative atomic mass 15.9994. It is the most abundant element in the Earth's crust (almost 50% by mass), forms about 21% by volume of the atmosphere, and is present in combined form in water and many other substances. Oxygen is a by-product of phot...
oxalic acid
White, poisonous solid, soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. Oxalic acid is found in rhubarb leaves, and its salts (oxalates) occur in wood sorrel (genus Oxalis, family Oxalidaceae) and other plants. It also occurs naturally in human body cells. It is used in the leather and textile industries, in dyeing and bleaching, ink manuf...
ox
Castrated male of domestic cattle, used in developing countries for ploughing and other agricultural work. Also the extinct wild ox or aurochs of Europe, and surviving wild species such as buffaloes and yaks
oxpecker
Either of two species of African birds belonging to the starling family. They were thought to climb around on the bodies of large mammals, feeding on ticks and other parasites and on cattle earwax, but in a British study, published in April 2000, of red-billed oxpeckers on oxen in Zimbabwe, researchers found that the oxpeckers were not eating t...
oxymoron
Figure of speech involving the combination of two or more words that are normally opposites, in order to startle. Bittersweet is an oxymoron, as are cruel to be kind and beloved enemy
oxbow lake
Curved lake found on the flood plain of a river. Oxbows are caused by the loops of meanders that are cut off at times of flood and the river subsequently adopts a shorter course. In the USA, the term bayou is often used
oxyacetylene torch
Gas torch that burns ethyne (acetylene) in pure oxygen, producing a high-temperature flame (3,000°C/5,400°F). It is widely used in welding to fuse metals. In the cutting torch, a jet of oxygen burns through metal already melted by the flame
oxlip
Plant closely related to the cowslip
Oxon.
Abbreviation for Oxoniensis (Latin `of Oxford`)
oxygen debt
Physiological state produced by vigorous exercise, in which the lungs cannot supply all the oxygen that the muscles need. In other words, the lungs and bloodstream, pumped by the heart, cannot supply sufficient oxygen for aerobic respiration in the muscles. In such a situation the muscles can continue to break down glucose to liberate energy for a ...
oxidation
(chemistry) In chemistry, the loss of electrons, gain of oxygen, or loss of hydrogen by an atom, ion, or molecule during a chemical reaction. At a simple level, oxidation may be regarded as the reaction of a substance with oxygen. For example, rusting, respiration, and combustion (burning) are...
Oxford
Click images to enlargeUniversity city and administrative centre of Oxfordshire in south central England, at the confluence of the rivers Thames (called the Isis around Oxford) and Cherwell, 84 km/52 mi northwest of London; population (2001) 134,250. Oxford University has 36 colleges, the oldest being University C...
oyster catcher
Any of several quite large, chunky shorebirds, with a long, heavy bill which is flattened at the sides and used to prise open the shells of oysters, mussels, and other shellfish. (Family Haematopodidae, order Charadriiformes.)
oyster
Edible shellfish with a rough, irregular hinged shell, found on the sea bottom in coastal areas. Oysters are bivalve molluscs; the upper valve (shell) is flat, the lower hollow, like a bowl, and the two are hinged by an elastic ligament. The mantle, a protective layer of skin, lies against the shell, shielding the inner body, which includes the...
Ozu, Yasujiro
Japanese film director. He made silent films until 1936, by which time his main themes and techniques were clear: an absorption in family life and the interrelationships of its members, and the use of comedy to reveal character. His Tokyo monogatari/Tokyo Story (1953) is widely regarded as one of the great classics of wor...
Ozark Plateau
Highland plateau region in south-central USA in southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, northeastern Oklahoma, southern Illinois, and southeastern Kansas, with ridges, valleys, and streams; area 130,000 sq km/50,000 sq mi. The Ozark Plateau is bounded on the southwest by the Neosho River, on the south by the Arkansas River, on the north b...
Ozalid process
Trademarked copying process used to produce positive prints from drawn or printed materials or film, such as printing proofs from film images. The film is placed on top of chemically treated paper and then exposed to ultraviolet light. The image is developed dry using ammonia vapour
ozone
Gas consisting of three atoms of oxygen (O3), which is therefore an allotrope of oxygen. It is formed when the molecule of the stable form of oxygen (O2) is split by ultraviolet radiation or electrical discharge. It forms the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, which protects life on Earth from ultravi...
oz
Abbreviation for ounce
ozone depleter
Any chemical that destroys the ozone in the stratosphere. Most ozone depleters are chemically stable compounds containing chlorine or bromine, which remain unchanged for long enough to drift up to the upper atmosphere. The best known are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Other ozone depleters include halons, used in some fire extinguishers; methyl ch...
ozone layer
Thin layer of the gas ozone in the upper atmosphere which shields the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. A continent-sized hole has formed over Antarctica as a result of damage to the ozone layer. This has been caused in part by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but many reactions destroy ozone in th...
Ozero Baykal
Russian name for Lake Baikal, a freshwater lake in southern Siberia, Russia
