Copy of `Talk Talk - Communication terms`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.


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


Ahriman
In Zoroastrianism, the supreme evil spirit, lord of the darkness and death, waging war with his counterpart Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd) until a time when human beings choose to lead good lives and Ahriman is finally destroyed

Ahaggar
Large plateau region in the central Sahara, about 1,500 km/932 mi south of Algiers. It averages about 900 m/2,953 ft above sea level, its highest point being Mount Tahat (2,918 m/9,573 ft). The plateau is the home of the formerly nomadic Tuareg

Ahmad Shah Durrani
Founder and first ruler of Afghanistan. Elected shah in 1745, he had conquered the Punjab by 1751 and defeated the Maratha people's confederacy at Panipat, Punjab, in 1761

AH
In the Muslim calendar, abbreviation for anno hegirae

Ahern, Bertie Patrick Bartholemew
Irish politician, Taoiseach (prime minister) 1997–2008, leader of Fianna Fáil 1994–2008. He served three successive terms as prime minister to become Ireland's longest serving Taoiseach since Eamon de Valera. After the May 1997 election he formed a minority coalition government with the Progressive Democrats as Ireland's youn...

Ahvaz
Capital of Khuzestan province, southwest Iran; population (2006) 985,600. Situated on the River Karun, the city is an important administrative and supply centre for the southwestern Iranian oilfields, and is connected by rail to Tehran and the Gulf. There are also textile and petrochemical industries. Ahvaz was badly damaged during the Iran...

Ahvenanmaa
Finnish name for the Åland Islands, a group of some 6,000 islands in the Baltic Sea

air
(chemistry) The mixture of gases making up the Earth's atmosphere

air sac
In birds, a thin-walled extension of the lungs. There are nine of these and they extend into the abdomen and bones, effectively increasing lung capacity. The sacs subdivide into further air spaces which partially replace the marrow in many of the bird's bones. The air space in these bones assists flight by making them lighter. In mammals, i...

Aidan, St
Irish monk who converted Northumbria to Christianity and founded Lindisfarne monastery on Holy Island off the northeast coast of England. His feast day is 31 August

AIDS
Most serious of all the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It is caused by the retrovirus human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and is transmitted in body fluids, such as blood, saliva, semen, and vaginal secretions. AIDS is the world's most deadly STD and the fourth leading global cause of death. Unlike other diseases, which typically claim m...

Aix-la-Chapelle
French name of Aachen, an ancient city in Germany

Aix-en-Provence
City and spa in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, southeast France, 29 km/18 mi north of Marseille; population (1999) 134,300. The town dates from Roman times and was the capital of the former province of Provence. The city still maintains some of its important traditional functions, namely the courts...

airship
Any aircraft that is lighter than air and power-driven, consisting of an ellipsoidal balloon that forms the streamlined envelope or hull and has below it the propulsion system (propellers), steering mechanism, and space for crew, passengers, and/or cargo. The balloon section is filled with li...

aircraft carrier
Ocean-going naval vessel with a broad, flat-topped deck for launching and landing military aircraft; a floating military base for warplanes too far from home for refuelling, repairing, reconnaissance, escorting, and attack and defence operations. Aircraft are catapult-launched or take off and land on the flight-deck, a large exp...

aircraft
Any aeronautical vehicle capable of flying through the air. It may be lighter than air (supported by buoyancy) or heavier than air (supported by the dynamic action of air on its surfaces). Balloons and airships are lighter-than-air craft. Heavier-than-air craft include the aeroplane, glider, autogiro, and helicopter

airlock
Airtight chamber that allows people to pass between areas of different pressure; also an air bubble in a pipe that impedes fluid flow. An airlock may connect an environment at ordinary pressure and an environment that has high air pressure (such as a submerged caisson used for tunnelling or build...

Aiken, Howard Hathaway
US mathematician and computer pioneer. In 1939, in conjunction with engineers from IBM, he started work on the design of an automatic calculator using standard business-machine components. In 1944 the team completed one of the first computers, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known as the Harvard Mark I), a programmable computer co...

Airedale terrier
Breed of large terrier, about 60 cm/24 in tall, with a wiry red-brown coat and black saddle patch. It originated about 1850 in England, as a cross between the otterhound and Irish and Welsh terriers

Ainu
Aboriginal people of Japan, driven north in the 4th century AD by ancestors of the Japanese. They now number about 25,000, inhabiting Japanese and Russian territory on Sakhalin, Hokkaido, and the Kuril Islands. Their language has no written form, and is unrelated to any other. The Ainu were recognized by the Japanese government as a minority people...

ailanthus
Any of several trees or shrubs with compound leaves made up of pointed leaflets and clusters of small greenish flowers with an unpleasant smell. The tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), native to East Asia, is grown worldwide as an ornamental; it can grow to 30 m/100 ft in height and the trunk can reach 1 m/3 ft in d...

air transport
Means of conveying goods or passengers by air from one place to another. See flight

air pollution
Contamination of the atmosphere caused by the discharge, accidental or deliberate, of a wide range of toxic airborne substances. Often the amount of the released substance is relatively high in a certain locality, so the harmful effects become more noticeable. The cost of preventing any discharge of pollutants into the air is prohibitive, so attemp...

air mass
Large body of air with particular characteristics of temperature and humidity. An air mass forms when air rests over an area long enough to pick up the conditions of that area. When an air mass moves to another area it affects the weather of that area, but its own characteristics become modified in the process. For example, an air mass formed over ...

aid
Financial or other assistance given or lent, on favourable terms, by richer, usually industrialized, countries to war-damaged or developing states. It may be given for political, commercial, or humanitarian reasons, or a combination of all three. A distinction may be made between short-term aid (usually food and medicine), which is given to...

AI
Abbreviation for artificial intelligence and artificial insemination

air resistance
Force tending to oppose the motion of a body as it moves through air. It is a form of friction. An object falling through the air experiences a force due to air particles opposing its motion, which has the effect of slowing down the object. Air resistance is greater for objects moving faster and with...

ajolote
Mexican reptile of the genus Bipes. It and several other tropical burrowing species are placed in the Amphisbaenia, a group separate from lizards and snakes among the Squamata. Unlike the others, however, which have no legs, it has a pair of short but well-developed front legs. In line with its burrowing habits, the skull is ...

Ajman
Smallest of the seven states making up the United Arab Emirates; area 250 sq km/96 sq mi; population (1999 est) 161,000

Ajaccio
Capital and second-largest port of the French island of Corsica; population (1990) 59,300. Founded by the Genoese in 1492, it was the birthplace of Napoleon; it has been French since 1768

Ajanta
Village in Maharashtra state, India, known for its Buddhist cave temples dating from 200 BC to the 7th century AD. The Ajanta Caves boast some 28 chambers cut from solid granite, which are covered with wall paintings and reliefs of superb artistry, thought to have been executed by monks

Ajax
Greek hero in Homer's Iliad. Son of Telamon, King of Salamis, he was second only to Achilles among the Greek heroes in the Trojan War. He fought Hector single-handed, defended the ships, and killed many Trojans. According to subsequent Greek legends, Ajax went mad with jealousy when Agamemnon awarded the armour of the dea...

Ajmer
City in Rajasthan, India, 350 km/220 mi southwest of Delhi; population (2001) 485,200. It is a commercial and industrial centre, with textile and leather manufacturing, railway workshops, and grain processing. Situated in a deep valley in the Aravalli Mountains at the foot of Mount Taragarh (870 m/2,800 ft), it is surrounded by a stone ...

Akkad
Northern Semitic people who conquered the Sumerians 2350 BC and ruled Mesopotamia. Their language was Semitic (old Akkadian). Akkad was also the northern of the two provinces into which Babylonia was divided. The ancient city of Akkad in central Mesopotamia, founded by Sargon I, was an imperial centre in the late third millennium BC; the site i...

Akhenaton
King (pharaoh) of ancient Egypt of the 18th dynasty (c. 1353–1335 BC), who may have ruled jointly for a time with his father Amenhotep III. He developed the cult of the Sun, Aton, rather than the rival cult of Amen, and removed his capital to Akhetaton. Akhenaton's favouri...

Aksum
Ancient Greek-influenced Semitic kingdom that flourished in the 1st–6th centuries AD and covered a large part of modern Ethiopia as well as the Sudan. The ruins of its capital, also called Aksum, lie northwest of Adwa, but the site has been developed as a modern city

Akko
Seaport in northwest Israel, situated on the Mediterranean Sea; population (1995 est) 48,300. The city was built on a small promontory which, with Mount Carmel to the south, forms a semicircular bay. From being part of British-mandated Palestine, it became part of Israel in 1948. Industries include tourism, fishing, and light manufactures

Akbar, Jalal ud-Din Muhammad
Third Mogul emperor of North India from 1556, when he succeeded his father Humayun. He gradually established his rule throughout North India. He is considered the greatest of the Mogul emperors, and the firmness and wisdom of his rule won him the title `Guardian of Mankind`; he was a pa...

Akhetaton
Capital of ancient Egypt established by the monotheistic pharaoh Akhenaton as the centre for his cult of the Aton, the Sun's disc; it is the modern Tell el Amarna 300 km/190 mi south of Cairo. Akhenaton's palace had formal enclosed gardens. After his death it was abandoned, and the Amarna tablets, found in the ruins, were probably d...

Akhmatova, Anna
Russian poet. She was a leading member of the Acmeist movement. Among her works are the cycle Requiem (1963), written in the 1930s and dealing with the Stalinist terror, and Poem Without a Hero (1962, begun 1940)

Akihito
Emperor of Japan from 1989, succeeding his father Hirohito (Showa). His reign is called the Heisei (`achievement of universal peace`) era. Unlike previous crown princes, Akihito was educated alongside commoners at the elite Gakushuin school and in 1959 he married Michiko Shoda (1934– ), the daughter of a flour-company presid...

Akron
City in Summit County, northeastern Ohio, on the Cuyahoga River, 56 km/35 mi southeast of Cleveland; population (2000 est) 217,100. Industries include chemical, plastic, and aerospace products. Known as the `Rubber Capital of the World`, it is still home to the headquarters of several tyre and rubber companies, although tyre produ...

Akram, Wasim
Pakistani cricketer. A left-arm fast bowler and hard-hitting batsman who made his Test debut at the age of 18 and soon established himself as one of the world's leading players. He was the first player to take more than 400 wickets in both Test and One-day internationals, and has taken more wickets in One-day internationals than...

akhirah
In Islam, life after death. Muslims believe that people need to follow God's teachings of respect, honesty, and kindness to others, and after death they will be judged by their actions. God will forgive those who ask for it, and choose to lead a good life. Beyond death it is too late for forgiveness; those whose actions were sinful will go ...

Akhand Path
In Sikh worship, the continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib (holy book), from beginning to end. It usually lasts for 48 hours. People may take turns reading in relays, or provide food for the readers. An Akhand Path traditionally takes place during the gurpurbs (festivals honouring the gurus), and Sikh ceremonies such as Amr...

Akal Takht
Site of Sikh pilgrimage at Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is one of the five takhts (eternal thrones) of Sikhism. The foundations of this site were laid by the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind, and remind followers of the struggle for justice that has been an important feature of Sikh history. Weaponry used in these battles is housed at the Akal Takht....

alpha and omega
First (α) and last (ω) letters of the Greek alphabet, a phrase hence meaning the beginning and end, or sum total, of anything

All Saints' Day
Festival on 1 November for all Christian saints and martyrs who have no special day of their own. It was instituted in 835

Almaty
(city) Former capital (to 1998) of Kazakhstan, in the southeast of the country on the Almaatinka River, and capital of Almaty oblast; population (2004) 1,175,200. Its industries include engineering, printing, tobacco processing, textile manufacturing, and the production of leather goods. T...

Alma-Tadema, Lawrence
Dutch artist who worked in England from 1870. He painted romantic, idealized scenes from ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian life, which combined Victorian sentiment with detailed historical accuracy

Almería
Spanish city, chief town of a province of the same name on the Mediterranean; population (2001) 166,300. The province is famous for its white grapes, and in the Sierra Nevada are rich mineral deposits

allium
Any of a group of plants of the lily family, usually strong-smelling with a sharp taste; they form bulbs in which sugar is stored. Cultivated species include onion, garlic, chive, and leek. Some species are grown in gardens for their decorative globular heads of white, pink, or purple flowers. (Genus Allium, family Liliac...

alternating current
Electric current that flows for an interval of time in one direction and then in the opposite direction; that is, a current that flows in alternately reversed directions through or around a circuit. Electric energy is usually generated as alternating current in a power station, and alternating currents may be used for both power and lighting. T...

alabaster
Naturally occurring fine-grained white or light-coloured translucent form of gypsum, often streaked or mottled. A soft material, it is easily carved, but seldom used for outdoor sculpture

Alfonso
(X) King of Castile from 1252. His reign was politically unsuccessful but he contributed to learning: he made Castilian the official language of the country and commissioned a history of Spain and an encyclopedia, as well as several translations from Arabic concerning, among other subjects...

alto
Voice or musical instrument between tenor and soprano, of approximate range G3–D5. It is also used before the name of an instrument, for example alto saxophone, and indicates a size larger than soprano. The traditional male alto voice of early opera, Anglican church choirs, male voice quartets, and choral societies is also known as counterteno...

Alexius I, Comnenus
Byzantine emperor 1081–1118. With meagre resources, he dealt successfully with internal dissent and a series of external threats from the Turks and Normans. He managed the difficult passage of the First Crusade through Byzantine territory on its way to Jerusalem, and by the end of his reign he had, with the help of the Crusaders, restored much...

Alexandria, Library of
The world's first state-funded scientific institution, founded in 330 BC in Alexandria, Egypt, by Ptolemy I and further expanded by Ptolemy II. It comprised a museum, teaching facilities, and a library that contained up to 700,000 scrolls, including much ancient Greek literature. It sustained significant damage in AD 391, when the Roman emp...

Alexandria, school of
Group of writers and scholars of Alexandria, Egypt, who made the city the chief centre of culture in the Western world from about 331 BC to AD 642. They include the poets Callimachus, Apollonius of Rhodes, and Theocritus; Euclid, pioneer of geometry; Eratosthenes, a geographer; Hipparchus, who developed a system of trigonometry; Pto...

Alexandria
(Egypt) City, chief port, and second-largest city of Egypt, situated between the Mediterranean and Lake Maryut; population (1996) 3,328,200, (2007 calc) 3,917,100. It is linked by canal with the Nile. There is oil refining, gas processing, and trade in cotton and grain. Founded in 332 ...

Alexandra Feodorovna
(tsarina) Last tsarina of Russia 1894–1917. She was the former Princess Alix of Hessen and granddaughter of Britain's Queen Victoria. She married Nicholas II and, from 1907, fell under the spell of Rasputin, a `holy man` brought to the palace to try to cure her son of haemop...

Alexander Severus
Roman emperor from 222, when he succeeded his cousin Heliogabalus. He attempted to involve the Senate more closely in administration, and was the patron of the jurists Ulpian and Paulus, and the historian Cassius Dio. His campaign against the Persians in 232 achieved some success, but in 235, on his way to defend Gaul against German invaders, he wa...

Alexander Nevski, St
Russian military leader, ruler of Novgorod in 1236, and Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1252. He survived Mongol attacks in 1237–40, which enabled him to defeat the Swedes in 1240 and the Germans in 1242. He defended Russia equally successfully against the Lithuanians, and was appointed Grand Prince of Vladimir by the Khan of the Golden Horde. He ...

Aletsch
Most extensive glacier in Europe, 23.6 km/14.7 mi long, beginning on the southern slopes of the Jungfrau in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland

Aleppo
Ancient city in northwest Syria, situated on the River Kuweik on the edge of the Syrian Desert; population (2003 est) 1,553,200. It is the administrative centre of the governorate of Aleppo; population (1996 est) 3,694,000. Silk and cotton goods, leather, grain, carpets, tobacco, and metalwork are produced. Chief industries are silk, cotton...

Aldiss, Brian W(ilson)
English novelist, science-fiction writer, anthologist, and critic. His futuristic novels include Non-Stop (1958), Barefoot in the Head (1969), the `Helliconia` trilogy (1982–85), and Somewhere East of Life (1994). He has also published several volumes of short stories, ...

Aldermaston
Village in west Berkshire, England, and site of an atomic and biological weapons research establishment, which employs some 5,000 people working on the production of nuclear warheads. During 1958–63 the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) made it the focus of an annual Easter protest march

Alderney
Third largest of the Channel Islands, with its capital at St Anne's; area 8 sq km/3 sq mi; population (2001) 2,030. Tourism flourished on Alderney from the early 20th century. The main employers are now tourist-related businesses and services providing building and maintenance work for locals and immigrants. There is also a smal...

Aldeburgh
Small town and coastal resort in Suffolk, eastern England, 33 km/20 mi from Ipswich; population (2001) 2,800. It maintains a small fishing fleet, serving the local market. The Aldeburgh Festival, founded in 1948 by the English composer Benjamin Britten, is held annually at the Snape Maltings, 8 km/5 mi west of the town. It is the home o...

Alcuin
English scholar. Born in York, he went to Rome in 780, and in 782 took up residence at Charlemagne's court in Aachen. From 796 he was abbot at St Martin's in Tours. He disseminated Anglo-Saxon scholarship. Alcuin organized education and learning in the Frankish empire and was a prominent ...

Alcock, John William
English aviator. On 14 June 1919, he and Arthur Whitten-Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight, from Newfoundland to Ireland. He was awarded the KBE in 1919

alchemy
Supposed technique of transmuting base metals, such as lead and mercury, into silver and gold by the philosopher's stone, a hypothetical substance, to which was also attributed the power to give eternal life. This aspect of alchemy constituted much of the chemistry of the Middle Ages. More broadly, however, alchemy was a system of philosophy th...

Albion
Name for Britain used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It was mentioned by Pytheas of Massilia (4th century BC), and is probably of Celtic origin, but the Romans, having in mind the white cliffs of Dover, assumed it to be derived from the word albus (white)

albinism
Rare hereditary condition in which the body lacks tyrosinase, one of the enzymes that form the pigment melanin, normally found in the skin, hair, and eyes. As a result, the hair is white and the skin and eyes are pink. The skin and eyes are abnormally sensitive to light, and vision is often impaired. The condition occurs among all human groups and ...

Albigenses
Heretical sect of Christians (also known as the Cathars) who flourished in southern France near Albi and Toulouse during the 11th–13th centuries. They adopted the Manichean belief in the duality of good and evil and pictured Jesus as being a rebel against the cruelty of an omnipotent God

Alberta
Click images to enlargeProvince of western Canada; area 661,200 sq km/255,223 sq mi; population (2001 est) 2,974,800. Its capital is Edmonton, and the main towns and cities include Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer. Oil extraction is the most important economic activity in Alberta, with the provi...

Albert, Prince Consort
Husband of British Queen Victoria from 1840. A patron of the arts, science, and industry, Albert was the second son of the Duke of Saxe Coburg-Gotha and first cousin to Queen Victoria, whose chief adviser he became. He planned the Great Exhibition of 1851, the profits from which were used to buy ...

Albany
(New York State) Capital of New York State, in Albany County situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, about 225 km/140 mi north of New York City; population (2000 est) 95,700. Albany is an important deep-water port and state administrative centre; its chief industries inc...

Alban, St
First Christian martyr in England. In 793 King Offa founded a monastery on the site of Alban's martyrdom, around which the city of St Albans grew up. His feast day is 20 June

Alba
Gaelic name for Scotland; also an alternative spelling for Alva, Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, Spanish politician and general

almond
Tree related to the peach and apricot. Dessert almonds, which can be eaten whole, are the kernels of the fruit of the sweet variety Prunus amygdalus dulcis, which is also used to produce a low-cholesterol cooking oil. Oil of bitter almonds, from the variety P. amygdalu...

aloe
One of a group of plants native to southern Africa, with long, fleshy, spiny-edged leaves. The drug usually referred to as `bitter aloes` is a powerful purgative (agent that causes the body to expel impurities) prepared from the juice of the leaves of several of the species. (Genus <...

algae
Highly varied group of plants, ranging from single-celled forms to large and complex seaweeds. They live in both fresh and salt water, and in damp soil. Algae do not have true roots, stems, or leaves. Marine algae help combat global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis

Altair
Brightest star in the constellation Aquila and the 13th-brightest star in the night sky. It is a white star about 16 light years away from the Sun and forms the Summer Triangle with the stars Deneb (in the constellation Cygnus) and Vega (in Lyra)

Aldebaran
Brightest star in the constellation Taurus and the 14th-brightest star in the night sky; it marks the eye of the `bull`. Aldebaran is a red giant 65 light years away from the Sun, shining with a true luminosity of about 100 times that of the Sun

Algol
Eclipsing binary, a pair of orbiting stars in the constellation Perseus, the fainter one of which eclipses the brighter one every 69 hours, causing the apparent brightness of the pair to drop by two-thirds. The brightness changes were first explained in 1782 by English amateur astronomer John Goodricke. He pointed out that the changes between m...

albedo
Fraction of the incoming light reflected by a body such as a planet. A body with a high albedo (near 1) is very bright, while a body with a low albedo (near 0) is dark. The Moon has an average albedo of 0.12, Venus 0.76, and Earth 0.37

allotropy
Property whereby an element can exist in two or more forms (allotropes), each possessing different physical properties but the same state of matter (gas, liquid, or solid). The allotropes of carbon are diamond, fullerene, and graphite. Sulphur has several allotropes (flowers of sulphur, plastic, rhom...

alkaline-earth metal
Any of a group of six metallic elements with similar bonding properties: beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium. They form a linked group in the periodic table of the elements. They are strongly basic, bivalent (have a valency of two), and occur in nature only in compounds. Calcium and magnesium are abundant on Earth and e...

alkali metal
Any of a group of six metallic elements with similar chemical properties: lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium, and francium. They form a linked group (Group 1) in the periodic table of the elements. They each have a valency of one and have very low densities (lithium, sodium, and potassium float on water); in general they are reac...

aluminium
Lightweight, silver-white, ductile and malleable, metallic element, atomic number 13, relative atomic mass 26.9815, melting point 658°C/1,216°F. It is the third most abundant element (and the most abundant metal) in the Earth's crust, of which it makes up about 8.1% by mass....

alumina
Oxide of aluminium, widely distributed in clays, slates, and shales. It is formed by the decomposition of the feldspars in granite and used as an abrasive. Typically it is a white powder, soluble in most strong acids or caustic alkalis but not in water. Impure alumina is called `emery`. Rubies, sapphires, and topaz are corundum gemstones....

alum
Any double sulphate of a monovalent metal or radical (such as sodium, potassium, or ammonium) and a trivalent metal (such as aluminium, chromium, or iron). The commonest alum is the double sulphate of potassium and aluminium, K2Al2(SO4
alkaloid
Any of a number of physiologically active and frequently poisonous substances contained in some plants. They are usually organic bases and contain nitrogen. They form salts with acids and, when soluble, give alkaline solutions. Substances in this group are included by custom rather than by scientific rules. Examples include morphine, cocaine, quini...

aldehyde
Any of a group of organic chemical compounds prepared by oxidation of primary alcohols, so that both the OH (hydroxyl) group and the adjacent carbon lose a hydrogen to give an oxygen joined by a double bond to a carbon atom (the aldehyde group, with the formula CHO). Higher aldehydes are commonly used in perfumes

alcohol
(chemistry) In chemistry, any member of a group of organic chemical compounds characterized by the presence of one or more aliphatic OH (hydroxyl) groups in the molecule, and which form esters with acids. The main uses of alcohols are as solvents for gums, resins, lacquers, and varnishes; ...

altruism
(biology) In biology, helping another individual of the same species to reproduce more effectively, as a direct result of which the altruist may leave fewer offspring itself. Female honey bees (workers) behave altruistically by rearing sisters in order to help their mother, the queen bee, repr...

allele
One of two or more alternative forms of a gene at a given position (locus) on a chromosome, caused by a difference in the sequence of DNA. This is best explained with examples. A gene which controls eye colour in humans may have two alternative forms – an allele that can produce blue eyes, and an allele that produces brown eyes. In a plant tha...

alternation of generations
Typical life cycle of terrestrial plants and some seaweeds, in which there are two distinct forms occurring alternately: diploid (having two sets of chromosomes) and haploid (one set of chromosomes). The diploid generation produces haploid spores by meiosis, and is called the sporophyte, while the haploid generation produces gametes (sex cells)...

Alvarez Quintero, Serafin
(1871–1938) Spanish dramatists. The brothers, born near Seville, always worked together and from 1897 produced about 200 comedies, principally dealing with local life in Andalusia. Among them are Papá Juan: centenario (1909) and Los mosquitos...