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 The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.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


Columbia
(river) River in western North America; length over 2,005 km/1,245 mi. It rises in Columbia Lake on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, 130 km/81 mi north of the USA border. It flows through Washington State along the northern border of Oregon, unt...

colour blindness
Hereditary defect of vision that reduces the ability to discriminate certain colours, usually red and green. The condition is sex-linked, affecting men more than women. In the most common types of colour blindness there is confusion among the red–yellow–green range of colours; for example, many colour-blind observers are unabl...

Colossus of Rhodes
Bronze statue of Apollo erected at the entrance to the harbour at Rhodes between 292 BC and 280 BC. Said to have been about 30 m/100 ft high, it was counted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but in 224 BC fell as a result of an earthquake

Colosseum
Amphitheatre in ancient Rome, begun by the emperor Vespasian to replace the one destroyed by fire during the reign of Nero, and completed by his son Titus in AD 80. It was 187 m/615 ft long and 49 m/160 ft high, and seated 50,000 people. Early Christians were martyred there by lions and gladi...

Colorado
(state) Click images to enlargeState of the western central USA in the heart of the `Mountain States`, bordered to the west by Utah, to the north by Nebraska and Wyoming, to the east by Kansas and Nebraska, to the southeast by Oklahom...

Colorado
(river, North America) Click images to enlargeRiver in southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico, rising in the Rocky Mountains and flowing 2,333 km/1,447 mi to the Gulf of California through Colorado, Utah, Arizona (including the Grand Canyon), a...

colophon
Decorative device on the title page or spine of a book, the trademark or logo of the individual publisher. Originally a colophon was an inscription on the last page of a book giving the writer or printer's name and the place and year of publication

Colón
Chief port and second-largest city of Panama, built on Manzanillo Island at the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal, 80 km/50 mi northwest of Panamá, capital city of Colón province; population (2000 est) 53,200 (town), 204,200 (province). It is also the Caribbean terminus of the Panama railway, and a major commercial centre...

Cologne
Industrial and commercial port in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the left bank of the Rhine, 35 km/22 mi southeast of Düsseldorf; population (2003 est) 965,300. Cologne is an important transhipment and financial centre, and a major industrial centre for the manufacture of cars (Ford), engines, engineering, electronics engineer...

Collins,
(William) English author of mystery and suspense novels. He wrote The Woman in White (1860), often called the first English detective fiction novel, and The Moonstone (1868) (with Sergeant Cuff, one of the first detectives in English literature). Both nove...

Collins, Michael
Irish nationalist. He was a Sinn Fein leader, a founder and director of intelligence of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1919, a minister in the provisional government of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see Ireland, Republic of), commander of the Free State forces in the civil war, and for ten days head of state before being killed by Irish republi...

collective unconscious
In psychology, a shared pool of memories, ideas, modes of thought, and so on, which, according to the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, comes from the life experience of one's ancestors, indeed from the entire human race. It coexists with the personal unconscious, which contains the material of individual experience, and may be regarded as an immen...

collage
In art, the use of various materials, such as pieces of newspaper, fabric, and wallpaper, to create a picture or design by sticking them on canvas or another suitable surface, often in combination with painted or drawn features. The technique was used in scrapbooks in the 19th century and was first seriously adopted by artists in the early 20th cen...

Colette, Sidonie-Gabrielle
French writer. Her best novels reveal an exquisite sensitivity, largely centred on the joys and sorrows of love, and include Chéri (1920), La Fin de Chéri/The End of Chéri (1926), and Gigi (1944). She wrote with realism, sharp observation, wit, and style, and had a sensuous...

Colditz
Castle in eastern Germany, near Leipzig, used as a high-security prisoner-of-war camp (Oflag IVC) in World War II. Among daring escapes was that of British Captain Patrick Reid (1910–1990) and others in October 1942, whose story contributed much to its fame. It became a museum in 198...

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
English poet, critic, and philosopher. A friend of the poets Robert Southey and William Wordsworth, he collaborated with the latter on the highly influential collection Lyrical Ballads (1798), which expressed their theory of poetic sensation and was the spearhead of English Romanticism. His poems include `The Rime of the Anc...

cold, common
Minor disease of the upper respiratory tract, caused by a variety of viruses. Symptoms are headache, chill, nasal discharge, sore throat, and occasionally cough. Research indicates that the virulence of a cold depends on psychological factors and either a reduction or an increase of social or work activity, as a result of stress, in the previous si...

Colchester
City and river port in Essex, eastern England, on the River Colne, 80 km/50 mi northeast of London; population (2001) 104,400. It is the market centre of an agricultural and shell-fishing area, roses and oysters being notable products. Industries include engineering, printing, and the manufacture of clothing. The oldest recorded town in...

Coke, Edward
Lord Chief Justice of England 1613–17. He was a defender of common law against royal prerogative; against Charles I he drew up the petition of right in 1628, which defines and protects Parliament's liberties

Cognac
Town in the Charente département of western France, on the River Charente 40 km/25 mi west of Angoulême; population (1999) 19,500. Situated in a vine-growing district, Cognac has given its name to a brandy. Under French law the name may be applied only to brandy produced within a strictly limited area around...

Coetzee, J(ohn) M(ichael)
South African writer and critic. His work often reflects his opposition to apartheid. His novels include Dusklands (1974), In the Heart of the Country (1977), Waiting for the Barbarians (1980), Foe (1986), The Master of Petersburg (1994), and Eli...

Cody, William Frederick
US scout and performer. From 1883 he toured the USA and Europe with a Wild West show which featured the recreation of Indian attacks and, for a time, the cast included Chief Sitting Bull as well as Annie Oakley. His nickname derives from a time when he had a contract to supply buffalo carcasses to ra...

Cocteau, Jean
French poet, dramatist, and film director. A leading figure in European modernism, he worked with the artist Picasso, the choreographer Diaghilev, and the composer Stravinsky. He produced many volumes of poetry, ballets such as Le Boeuf sur le toit/The Ox on the Roof (1920), plays like Orphée/Orpheus
Cochin-China
Region of Southeast Asia. With Cambodia it formed part of the ancient Khmer empire. In the 17th–18th centuries it was conquered by Annam. Together with Cambodia it became, from 1863 to 1867, the first part of the Indochinese peninsula to be occupied by France. Since 1949 it has been part of Vietnam

Cochabamba
Capital of Cercado province and Cochabamba department, central Bolivia, situated on the River Rocha, at an altitude of 2,550 m/8,370 ft on the slopes of the eastern Cordillera, 230 km/144 mi southeast of La Paz; population (2001 est) 558,500. It is the third-largest city in Bolivia. The Cochabamba valley is a rich agricultural regio...

Cobden, Richard
British Liberal politician and economist, cofounder with John Bright of the Anti-Corn Law League in 1838. A member of Parliament from 1841, he opposed class and religious privileges and believed in disarmament and free trade

Cobbett, William
English Radical politician and journalist, who published the weekly Political Register 1802–35. He spent much of his life in North America. His crusading essays on the conditions of the rural poor were collected as `Rural Rides` (1830)

coastguard
Governmental organization whose members patrol a nation's seacoast to prevent smuggling, assist distressed vessels, watch for oil slicks, and so on. In the UK, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has responsibility for all civil maritime search and rescue operations around the UK coastline and up to 1,000 mi into the North Atlantic. .BTXT: H...

cowslip
European plant related to the primrose, with several small deep-yellow fragrant flowers growing from a single stem. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World. The oxlip (Primula elatior) is also closely related. (Primula veris, family Primulaceae.)

couch grass
European grass that spreads rapidly by underground stems. It is considered a troublesome weed in North America, where it has been introduced. (Agropyron repens, family Gramineae.)

cottonwood
Any of several North American poplar trees with seeds topped by a thick tuft of silky hairs. The eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), growing to 30 m/100 ft, is native to the eastern USA. The name `cottonwood` is also given to the downy-leaved Australian tree Bedfordia salaoina. (True cotto...

cotton
Click images to enlargeTropical and subtropical herbaceous plant belonging to the mallow family. (Genus Gossypium, family Malvaceae). Fibres surround the seeds inside the ripened fruits, or bolls, and these are spun into yarn for cloth. Cotton fabric is cool and comfortable to wear, resilient, absorbs m...

cotoneaster
Any of a group of shrubs or trees found in Europe and Asia, belonging to the rose family and closely related to the hawthorn and medlar. The fruits, though small and unpalatable, are usually bright red and conspicuous, often surviving through the winter. Some of the shrubs are cultivated for their attractive appearance. (Genus Cotoneaster&...

cornflower
Native European and Asian plant belonging to the same genus as the knapweeds but distinguished from them by its deep azure-blue flowers. Formerly a common weed in northern European wheat fields, it is now widely grown in gardens as a herbaceous plant with flower colours ranging from blue through ...

columbine
Any of a group of plants belonging to the buttercup family. All are perennial herbs with divided leaves and hanging flower heads with spurred petals. (Genus Aquilegia, family Ranunculaceae.) The wild columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris), with blue flowers, has been developed by repeated crossing to produce modern gar...

coca
South American shrub belonging to the coca family, whose dried leaves are the source of the drug cocaine. It was used as a holy drug by the Andean Indians. (Erythroxylon coca, family Erythroxylaceae.)

cosmology
Branch of astronomy that deals with the structure and evolution of the universe as an ordered whole. Cosmologists construct `model universes` mathematically and compare their large-scale properties with those of the observed universe. Modern cosmology began in the 1920s with the discovery that the universe is expanding, which suggeste...

corona
Faint halo of hot (about 2,000,000°C/3,600,000°F) and tenuous gas around the Sun, which boils from the surface. It is visible at solar eclipses or through a coronagraph, an instrument that blocks light from the Sun's brilliant disc. Gas flows away from the corona to form the solar w...

communications satellite
Click images to enlargeRelay station in space for sending telephone, television, telex, and other messages around the world. Messages are sent to and from the satellites via ground stations. Most communications satellites are in geostationary orbit, appearing to hang fixed over one point on the Earth's surface. The fi...

Cornforth, John Warcup
Australian chemist. Using radioisotopes as markers, he found out how cholesterol is manufactured in the living cell and how enzymes synthesize chemicals that are mirror images of each other (optical isomers). He shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1975 with Swiss chemist Vladimir Prelog for his work in the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyse...

copper
Red-brown, very malleable and ductile, metallic element, atomic number 29, relative atomic mass 63.546. Its symbol comes from the Latin cuprum. It is one of the transition metals in the periodic table. Copper is used for its durability, pliability, high thermal and electrical c...

columbium
Former name for the chemical element niobium. The name is still used occasionally in metallurgy

constantan
High-resistance alloy of approximately 40% nickel and 60% copper with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion (measure of expansion on heating). It is used in electrical resistors

cod-liver oil
Oil obtained by subjecting the fresh livers of cod to pressure at a temperature of about 85°C/185°F. It is highly nutritious, being a valuable source of the vitamins A and D; overdose can be harmful

cobalt-60
Radioactive (half-life 5.3 years) isotope produced by neutron radiation of cobalt in heavy-water reactors, used in large amounts for gamma rays in cancer therapy, industrial radiography, and research, substituting for the much more costly radium

cobalt
Hard, lustrous, grey, metallic element, atomic number 27, relative atomic mass 58.933. It is found in various ores and occasionally as a free metal, sometimes in metallic meteorite fragments. It is used in the preparation of magnetic, wear-resistant, and high-strength alloys; its compounds are used in inks, paints, and varnishes. The is...

coal tar
Black oily material resulting from the destructive distillation of bituminous coal. The fractional distillation of coal tar yields light oil, middle oil, heavy oil, and anthracene oil; the residue is called pitch. On further distillation a large number of substances are obtained, about 200 of which have been isolated. They are used as dyes and ...

convergent evolution
In biology, the independent evolution of similar structures in species (or other taxonomic groups) that are not closely related, as a result of living in a similar way. Thus, birds and bees have wings, not because they are descended from a common winged ancestor, but because their respective ancestor...

competition
(ecology) In ecology, the interaction between two or more organisms, or groups of organisms, that use a common resource in short supply. There can be competition between members of the same species and competition between members of different species. Competition invariably results in a reduct...

community
(ecology) In ecology, an assemblage (group) of plants, animals, and other organisms living within a defined area. Communities are usually named by reference to a dominant feature, such as characteristic plant species (for example, a beech-wood community), or a prominent physical feature (f...

communication
(biology) In biology, the signalling of information by one organism to another, usually with the intention of altering the recipient's behaviour. Signals used in communication may be visual (such as the human smile or the display of colourful plumage in birds), auditory (for example, the w...

commensalism
In biology, a relationship between two species whereby one (the commensal) benefits from the association, whereas the other neither benefits nor suffers. For example, certain species of millipede and silverfish inhabit the nests of army ants and live by scavenging on the refuse of their hosts, but without affecting the ants

codon
In genetics, a triplet of bases (see base pair) in a molecule of DNA or RNA that directs the placement of a particular amino acid during the process of protein (polypeptide) synthesis. As each of the three positions can be filled by any of the four bases, there are 43 = 64 codons in the genetic code

coefficient of relationship
Probability that any two individuals share a given gene by virtue of being descended from a common ancestor. In sexual reproduction of diploid species, an individual shares half its genes with each parent, with its offspring, and (on average) with each sibling; but only a quarter (on average) with its grandchildren or its siblings' offsprin...

connective tissue
In animals, tissue made up of a noncellular substance, the extracellular matrix, in which some cells are embedded. Skin, bones, tendons, cartilage, and adipose tissue (fat) are the main connective tissues. There are also small amounts of connective tissue in organs such as the brain and liver, where they maintain shape and structure

conservation
In the life sciences, action taken to protect and preserve the natural world, usually from pollution, overexploitation, and other harmful features of human activity. The late 1980s saw a great increase in public concern for the environment, with membership of conservation groups, such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and the US Sierra Club, ris...

cow parsley
Tall perennial plant belonging to the carrot family, found in Europe, northern Asia, and North Africa. It grows up to 1 m/3 ft tall and has pinnate leaves (leaflets growing either side of a stem), hollow furrowed stems, and heads of delicate white flowers. (Anthriscus sylvestris, family Umbelliferae.)

comfrey
Any of a group of plants belonging to the borage family, with rough, hairy leaves and small bell-shaped flowers (blue, purple-pink, or white). They are found in Europe and western Asia. (Genus Symphytum, family Boraginaceae.) The European species (Symphytum officin...

conifer
Click images to enlargeAny of a large number of cone-bearing trees or shrubs. They are often pyramid-shaped, with leaves that are either scaled or needle-shaped; most are evergreen. Conifers include pines, spruces, firs, yews, junipers, monkey puzzles, and larches. (Order Coniferales.) Conifers belong to t...

coconut
Click images to enlargeFruit of the coconut palm, which grows throughout the lowland tropics. The fruit has a large outer husk of fibres, which is removed and used to make coconut matting and ropes. Inside this is the nut which is exported to temperate countries. Its hard shell contains white flesh and clear coconut milk,...

coypu
South American water rodent Myocastor coypus, about 60 cm/2 ft long and weighing up to 9 kg/20 lb. It has a scaly, ratlike tail, webbed hind feet, a blunt-muzzled head, and large orange incisors. The fur `nutria` is reddish brown. It feeds on vegetation, and lives in burrows in rivers and lake banks. Taken t...

coyote
Wild dog Canis latrans, in appearance like a small wolf, living in North and Central America. Its head and body are about 90 cm/3 ft long and brown, flecked with grey or black. Coyotes live in open country and can run at 65 kph/40 mph. Their main foods are rabbits and rodents. Although persecuted by humans for over a cent...

cowrie
Marine snail of the family Cypreidae, in which the interior spiral form is concealed by a double outer lip. The shells are hard, shiny, and often coloured. Most cowries are shallow-water forms, and are found in many parts of the world, particularly the tropical Indo-Pacific. Cowries have been used as ornaments and fertility charms, and also...

cougar
Another name for the puma, a large North American cat

corncrake
Bird Crex crex of the rail family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. About 25 cm/10 in long, the bill and tail are short, the legs long and powerful, and the toes have sharp claws. It is drably coloured, shy, and has a persistent rasping call. The corncrake can swim and run easily, but its flight is heavy. It lives in meadows and cr...

cormorant
Any of various diving seabirds, mainly of the genus Phalacrocorax, order Pelecaniformes, about 90 cm/3 ft long, with webbed feet, a long neck, hooked beak, and glossy black plumage. Cormorants generally feed on fish and shellfish, which they catch by swimming and diving under water, sometimes to a considerable depth. They col...

coral
Click images to enlargeMarine invertebrate of the class Anthozoa in the phylum Cnidaria, which also includes sea anemones and jellyfish. It has a skeleton of lime (calcium carbonate) extracted from the surrounding water. Corals exist in warm seas, at moderate depths with sufficient light. Some coral is valued for decorati...

coot
Freshwater bird of the genus Fulica in the rail family, order Gruiformes. Coots are about 38 cm/1.2 ft long, and mainly black. They have a white bill, extending up the forehead in a plate, and big feet with four lobed toes. Coots are omnivores, but feed mainly on water weed, except as chicks, when they feed on insects and oth...

conger
Any large marine eel of the family Congridae, especially the genus Conger. Conger eels live in shallow water, hiding in crevices during the day and active by night, feeding on fish and crabs. They are valued for food and angling

condor
Click images to enlargeName given to two species of birds in separate genera. The Andean condor Vultur gryphus, has a wingspan up to 3 m/10 ft, weighs up to 13 kg/28 lb, and can reach up to 1.2 m/3.8 ft in length. It is black, with some white on the wings and a white frill at the base of the...

colugo
Southeast Asian climbing mammal of the genus Cynocephalus, order Dermoptera, about 60 cm/2 ft long including the tail. It glides between forest trees using a flap of skin that extends from head to forelimb to hindlimb to tail. It may glide 130 m/425 ft or more, losing little height. It feeds largely on buds and leaves, an...

collie
Any of several breeds of sheepdog originally bred in Britain. They include the border collie, the bearded collie, and the rough collie and its smooth-haired counterpart

coelacanth
Large dark brown to blue-grey fish that can grow to about 2 m/6 ft in length, and weigh up to 73 kg/160 lb. It has bony, overlapping scales, and muscular lobe (limblike) fins sometimes used like oars when swimming and for balance while resting on the sea floor. They feed on other fish, an...

cod
Any fish of the family Gadidae, especially the Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, found in the North Atlantic and Baltic. It is brown to grey with spots, with a white underbelly, and can grow to 1.5 m/5 ft in length. The main cod fisheries are in the North Sea, and off the coasts of Iceland and Newfoundland, Canada. Much of the catch...

cockle
Any of over 200 species of bivalve mollusc with ribbed, heart-shaped shells. Some are edible and are sold in Western European markets

cockroach
Any of numerous insects of the family Blattidae, distantly related to mantises and grasshoppers. There are 3,500 species, mainly in the tropics. They have long antennae and biting mouthparts. They can fly, but rarely do so. The common cockroach, or black-beetle Blatta orientalis, is found in human dwellings, is nocturnal, omn...

cockchafer
European beetle Melolontha melolontha, of the scarab family, up to 3 cm/1.2 in long, with clumsy, buzzing flight, seen on early summer evenings. Cockchafers damage trees by feeding on the foliage and flowers

cockatoo
Any of several crested parrots, especially of the genus Cacatua, family Psittacidae, of the order Psittaciformes. They usually have light-coloured plumage with tinges of red, yellow, or orange on the face, and an erectile crest on the head. They are native to Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands. There are about 17 speci...

cobra
Click images to enlargeAny of several poisonous snakes, especially the genus Naja, of the family Elapidae, found in Africa and southern Asia, species of which can grow from 1 m/3 ft to over 4.3 m/14 ft. The neck stretches into a hood when the snake is alarmed. Cobra venom contains nerve toxins p...

coati
Click images to enlargeAny of several species of carnivores of the genus Nasua, in the same family, Procyonidae, as the raccoons. A coati is a good climber and has long claws, a long tail, a good sense of smell, and a long, flexible piglike snout used for digging. Coatis live in packs in the forests of ...

cockatiel
Australian parrot Nymphicus hollandicus, about 20 cm/8 in long, with greyish or yellow plumage, yellow cheeks, a long tail, and a crest like a cockatoo. Cockatiels are popular as pets and aviary birds

continental drift
Click images to enlargeIn geology, the theory that, about 250–200 million years ago, the Earth consisted of a single large continent (Pangaea), which subsequently broke apart to form the continents known today. The theory was first proposed in 1912 by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener, but such vast continental mov...

coppicing
Woodland management practice of severe pruning where trees are cut down to near ground level at regular intervals, typically every 3–20 years, to promote the growth of numerous shoots from the base. This form of forestry was once commonly practised in Europe, principally on hazel and chestnut, to produce large quantities of thin branches for f...

corolla
Collective name for the petals of a flower. In some plants the petal margins are partly or completely fused to form a corolla tube, for example in bindweed Convolvulus arvensis

cone
(botany) In botany, the reproductive structure of the conifers and cycads; also known as a strobilus. It consists of a central axis surrounded by numerous, overlapping, scalelike, modified leaves (sporophylls) that bear the reproductive organs. Usually there are separate male and female co...

cotyledon
Structure in the embryo of a seed plant that may form a `leaf` after germination and is commonly known as a seed leaf. The number of cotyledons present in an embryo is an important character in the classification of flowering plants (angiosperms). Monocotyledons (such as grasses, palms, and lilies) have a single cotyledon, whereas dicotyl...

corm
Short, swollen, underground plant stem, surrounded by protective scale leaves, as seen in the genus Crocus. It stores food, provides a means of vegetative reproduction, and acts as a perennating organ. During the year, the corm gradually withers as the food reserves are used for th...

collenchyma
Plant tissue composed of relatively elongated cells with thickened cell walls, in particular at the corners where adjacent cells meet. It is a supporting and strengthening tissue found in nonwoody plants, mainly in the stems and leaves

cosine
In trigonometry, a function of an angle in a right-angled triangle found by dividing the length of the side adjacent to the angle by the length of the hypotenuse (the longest side). This function can be used to find either angles or sides in a right-angled triangle

coelom
In all but the simplest animals, the fluid-filled cavity that separates the body wall from the gut and associated organs, and allows the gut muscles to contract independently of the rest of the body

coordinate geometry
System of geometry in which points, lines, shapes, and surfaces are represented by algebraic expressions. In plane (two-dimensional) coordinate geometry, the plane is usually defined by two axes at right angles to each other, the horizontal x-axis and the vertical ...

constant
In mathematics, a fixed quantity or one that does not change its value in relation to variables. For example, in the algebraic expression y2 = 5x - 3, the numbers 3 and 5 are constants. In physics, certain quantities are regarded as universal constants, such as the speed of light ...

complex number
In mathematics, a number written in the form a + ib, where a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of -1 (that is, i2 = -1); i used to be known as the `imaginary`...

congruent
In geometry, having the same shape and size (and area), as applied to two-dimensional or solid figures. With plane congruent figures, one figure will fit on top of the other exactly, though this may first require rotation, translation, or reflection of one of the figures

cone
(geometry) In geometry, a pyramid with a circular base. If the point (vertex) is directly above the centre of the circle, it is known as a right circular cone. The volume (V) of this cone is given by the formula <...

complement
(mathematics) In mathematics, the set of the elements within the universal set that are not contained in the designated set. For example, if the universal set is the set of all positive whole numbers and the designated set S is the set of all even numbers, then the complemen...

coefficient
Number part in front of an algebraic term, signifying multiplication. For example, in the expression 4x2 + 2xy - x, the coefficient of x2 is 4 (because 4x2 means 4 ×
convergence
In mathematics, the property of a series of numbers in which the difference between consecutive terms gradually decreases. The sum of a converging series approaches a limit as the number of terms tends to infinity

continuum
In mathematics, a set that is infinite and everywhere continuous, such as the set of points on a line

computer simulation
Representation of a real-life situation in a computer program. For example, the program might simulate the flow of customers arriving at a bank. The user can alter variables, such as the number of cashiers on duty, and see the effect. More complex simulations can model the behaviour of chemical reactions or even nuclear explosions. The behaviou...