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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Dinaric AlpsExtension of the European Alps that runs parallel to the eastern Adriatic coast, stretching from Slovenia along the frontier between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina into Montenegro, southwestern Serbia and northern Albania. The highest peak is Durmitor at 2,522 m/8,274 ft
diminishing returns, law ofIn economics, the principle that additional application of one factor of production, such as an extra machine or employee, at first results in rapidly increasing output but eventually yields declining returns, unless other factors are modified to sustain the increase
DijonAdministrative centre of the Côte-d'Or
département, east-central France, and chief city of the Burgundy region, situated on the Burgundy canal at the confluence of the rivers Ouche and Suzon; population (1999) 150,100, conurbation 237,200. As well as metallurgical, electrical, electronic, pharmaceutical,...
dieteticsSpecialized branch of human nutrition, dealing with the promotion of health through the proper kinds and quantities of food. Therapeutic dietetics has a large part to play in the treatment of certain illnesses, such as allergies, arthritis, and diabetes; it is sometimes used alone, but often in conjunction with drugs. The preventative or curati...
didgeridooMusical lip-reed wind instrument, made from a hollow eucalyptus branch 1.5 m/4 ft long and blown to produce rhythmic, booming notes of relatively constant pitch. It was first developed and played by Australian Aborigines
diasporaDispersal of the Jews, initially from Israel and Judah 586–538 BC after the Babylonian conquest (the Babylonian Captivity, or exile); and then the major diaspora following the Roman sacking of Jerusalem in AD 70 and their crushing of the Jewish revolt of 135. The term has come to refer to all the Jews living outside Israel. `Diaspora&...
DixieSouthern states of the USA. Dixie encompasses those states that joined the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The word may derive from the Mason–Dixon Line defining the northern boundary. Another explanation refers to the paper money printed in Louisiana before the Civil War, which had one side inscribed in French: on ten-dolla...
divorceLegal dissolution of a lawful marriage. It is distinct from an annulment, which is a legal declaration that the marriage was invalid. The ease with which a divorce can be obtained in different countries varies considerably and is also affected by different religious practices. The Roman Catholic Church does not permit divorce among its members, and...
divingSport of entering water either from a springboard 1 m/3 ft or 3 m/10 ft above the water, or from a platform, or highboard, 10 m/33 ft above the water. Various differing starts are adopted, facing forwards or backwards, and somersaults, twists, and combinations thereof are performed in midair before entering the water. Points are awarded...
divine right of kingsChristian political doctrine that hereditary monarchy is the system approved by God, hereditary right cannot be forfeited, monarchs are accountable to God alone for their actions, and rebellion against the lawful sovereign is therefore blasphemous. The doctrine had its origins in the anointing of Pep...
divinationArt of ascertaining future events or eliciting other hidden knowledge by supernatural or nonrational means. Divination played a large part in the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Greeks (see oracle), Romans, and Chinese (using the
I Ching), and is still practised throughout the world. Divination generally involves the intu...
district councilLower unit of local government in England. In 2007 there were 238 district councils under 34 (two-tier) non-metropolitan county councils, and 36 single-tier metropolitan district councils. Their responsibilities cover housing, local planning and development, roads (excluding trunk and classified), environmental health (refuse collection...
distemperAny of several infectious diseases of animals characterized by catarrh, cough, and general weakness. Specifically, it refers to a virus disease in young dogs, also found in wild animals, which can now be prevented by vaccination
dissidentIn one-party states, a person intellectually dissenting from the official line. Dissidents have been sent into exile, prison, labour camps, and mental institutions, or deprived of their jobs. In the former USSR the number of imprisoned dissidents declined from more than 600 in 1986 to fewer than 100 in 1990, of whom the majority were ethnic nat...
Disney, Walt(er Elias)US film producer, animator, and pioneer of family entertainment, whose career spanned the development of the motion picture medium. Disney created many world-famous cartoon characters, including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, made phenomenally successful feature-length animated films, includin...
discusCircular disc thrown by athletes who rotate the body to gain momentum from within a circle 2.5 m/8 ft in diameter. The men's discus weighs 2 kg/4.4 lb and the women's 1 kg/2.2 lb. Discus throwing was a competition in ancient Greece at gymnastic contests, such as those of the Olympic Games. It is an event in the modern Olympics a...
Dior, ChristianFrench couturier. He established his own Paris salon in 1947 and made an impact with the `New Look` – long, cinch-waisted, and full-skirted – after wartime austerity. He worked with Robert Piquet as design assistant in 1938 and for Lucien Lelong 1941–46. His first collection in 1947 was an instant success and he con...
DionysiusTwo tyrants of the ancient Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily. Dionysius the Elder (
c. 430–367 BC) seized power in 405 BC. His first two wars with Carthage further extended the power of Syracuse, but in a third (383–378 BC) he was defeated. He was a patron of Plato. He was succeeded by his son, Dionysius the Younger, who ...
Dio CassiusRoman historian. He wrote, in Greek, a Roman history in 80 books (of which 26 survive), covering the period from the founding of the city to AD 229, including the only surviving account of the invasion of Britain by Claudius in 43 BC
DingaanZulu chief who obtained the throne in 1828 by murdering his predecessor, Shaka, and became notorious for his cruelty. In warfare with the Boer immigrants into Natal he was defeated on 16 December 1838 – `Dingaan's Day`. He escaped to Swaziland, where he was deposed by his brother Mpande and subsequently assassinated
Dimitrov, Georgi MikhailovichBulgarian communist, prime minister from 1946. He was elected a deputy in 1913 and from 1919 was a member of the executive of the Comintern, an international communist organization (see the International). In 1933 he was arrested in Berlin and tried with others in Leipzig for allegedly setting fire to the parliament building (see Reichstag Fire). A...
DiggerMember of an English 17th-century radical sect that attempted to seize and share out common land. The Diggers became prominent in April 1649 when, headed by Gerrard Winstanley, they set up communal colonies near Cobham, Surrey, and elsewhere. The Diggers wanted to return to what they claimed was a `golden age` before the Norman Conque...
diet(meeting) Meeting or convention of the princes and other dignitaries of the Holy Roman (German) Empire, for example, the Diet of Worms of 1521 which met to consider the question of Luther's doctrines and the governance of the empire under Charles V
DieppeChannel port and holiday resort at the mouth of the River Arques in Seine-Maritime
département, northern France, 53 km/33 mi north of Rouen; population (1999) 34,600. It is a trading centre for fish and fruit; industries include fishing, shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, and light manufacturing. There are ferry ...
Dien Bien Phu, Battle ofDecisive battle in the Indochina War at a French fortress in North Vietnam, near the Laotian border. French troops were besieged 13 March–7 May 1954 by the communist Vietminh, and the eventual fall of Dien Bien Phu resulted in the end of French control of Indochina
Diemen, Anthony vanDutch admiral. In 1636 he was appointed governor general of Dutch settlements in the East Indies, and wrested Ceylon and Malacca (now Melaka) from the Portuguese. In 1636 and 1642 he supervised expeditions to Australia, on the second of which the navigator Abel Tasman discovered land not charted by Europeans and named it Van Diemen's Land, now ...
dictatorshipTerm or office of an absolute ruler, overriding the constitution. (In ancient Rome a dictator was a magistrate invested with emergency powers for six months.) Although dictatorships were common in Latin America during the 19th century, the only European example during this period was the rule of Napo...
Dickinson, Emily ElizabethUS poet. She wrote most of her poetry between 1850 and the late 1860s and was particularly prolific during the Civil War years. She experimented with poetic rhythms, rhymes, and forms, as well as language and syntax. Her work is characterized by a wit and boldness that seem to contrast sharply with the reclusive life she led. Very few of her many s...
Dickens, Charles(John Huffam) English novelist. He is enduringly popular for his memorable characters and his portrayal of the social evils of Victorian England. In 1836 he published the first number of the
Pickwick Papers, followed by
Oliver Twist (1837), the first of hi...
Disraeli, BenjaminClick images to enlargeBritish Conservative politician and novelist. Elected to Parliament in 1837, he was chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Derby in 1852, 1858–59, and 1866–68, and prime minister in 1868 and 1874–80. His imperialist policies brought India directly under the crown, and he was personall...
diffractionThe spreading out of waves when they pass through a small gap or around a small object, resulting in some change in the direction of the waves. In order for this effect to be observed, the size of the object or gap must be comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of the waves. Diffraction occurs ...
DiogenesAscetic Greek philosopher of the cynic school. He believed in freedom and self-sufficiency for the individual, and that the virtuous life was the simple life; he did not believe in social mores. His own writings do not survive
diesel engineInternal-combustion engine that burns a lightweight fuel oil. The diesel engine operates by compressing air until it becomes sufficiently hot to ignite the fuel. It is a piston-in-cylinder engine, like the petrol engine, but only air (rather than an air-and-fuel mixture) is taken ...
diecastingForm of casting in which molten metal is injected into permanent metal moulds or dies
differentialArrangement of gears in the final drive of a vehicle's transmission system that allows the driving wheels to turn at different speeds when cornering. The differential consists of sets of bevel gears and pinions within a cage attached to the crown wheel. When cornering, the bevel pinions rotate to...
distributorDevice in the ignition system of a piston engine that distributes pulses of high-voltage electricity to the spark plugs in the cylinders. The electricity is passed to the plug leads by the tip of a rotor arm, driven by the engine camshaft, and current is fed to the rotor arm from the ignition coil. The distributor also houses the contact point ...
diodeCombination of a cold anode and a heated cathode, or the semiconductor equivalent, which incorporates a
p–
n junction. Either device allows the passage of direct current in one direction only, and so is commonly used in a rectifier to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). Semiconductor di...
dip, magneticAngle at a particular point on the Earth's surface between the direction of the Earth's magnetic field and the horizontal. It is measured using a dip circle, which has a magnetized needle suspended so that it can turn freely in the vertical plane of the magnetic field. In the northern hemisph...
discharge tubeDevice in which a gas conducting an electric current emits visible light. It is usually a glass tube from which virtually all the air has been removed (so that it `contains` a near vacuum), with electrodes at each end. When a high-voltage current is passed between the electrodes, the few remaining gas atoms in the tube (or some delibe...
dispersion(physics) In physics, a particular property of refraction in which the angle and velocity of waves passing through a dispersive medium depend upon their frequency. When visible white light passes through a prism it is split into a spectrum (see electromagnetic waves). This occurs because each ...
diatonic scaleIn music, a scale consisting of the seven notes of any major or minor key
Dixieland jazzJazz style that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the early 20th century and worked its way up the Mississippi River. It is characterized by improvisation and the playing back and forth of the cornet, trumpet, clarinet, and trombone. The steady background beat is supplied by the piano, bass, and percussion instrument players, who also have t...
divertissementDance, or suite of dances, within a ballet or opera, where the plot comes to a halt for a display of technical virtuosity, such as the character dances in the last act of
Coppélia by Delibes, or the last acts of
Sleeping Beauty and
A Midsummer Night's DreamdiatomMicroscopic alga found in all parts of the world in either fresh or marine waters. Diatoms consist of single cells that secrete a hard cell wall made of silica. There are approximately 10,000 species of diatom. (Division Bacillariophyta.) The cell wall of a diatom is made up of two overlapping valves known as frustules, which are impregnated with s...
Dinesen, IsakPen-name of Danish writer Karen Blixen
difference engineMechanical calculating machine designed (and partly built in 1822) by the English mathematician Charles Babbage to produce reliable tables of life expectancy. A precursor of the analytical engine, it was to calculate mathematical functions by solving the differences between values given to variables within equations. Babbage designed the calculator...
digital samplingElectronic process used in telecommunications for transforming a constantly varying (analogue) signal into one composed of discrete units, a digital signal. In the creation of recorded music, sampling enables the composer, producer, or remix engineer to borrow discrete vocal or instrumental parts from other recorded work (it is also possible to sam...
dioptreOptical unit in which the power of a lens is expressed as the reciprocal of its focal length in metres. The usual convention is that convergent lenses are positive and divergent lenses negative. Short-sighted people need lenses of power about -0.7 dioptre; a typical value for long sight is about +1.5 dioptre
diving apparatusAny equipment used to enable a person to spend time underwater. Diving bells were in regular use in the 17th century, the diver breathing air trapped in a bell-shaped chamber. This was followed by cumbersome diving suits in the early 19th century. Complete freedom of movement came with the aqualung, invented by Jacques Cousteau in the early 194...
diesel oilLightweight fuel oil used in diesel engines. Like petrol, it is a petroleum product. When used in vehicle engines, it is also known as derv (diesel-engine road vehicle)
dividendIn business, the amount of money that company directors decide should be taken out of net profits for distribution to shareholders. It is usually declared as a percentage or fixed amount per share. The dividend, in the form of cash or shares, is recommended by the board and approved by the shareholders at the annual general meeting. A dividend paym...
digitalis(drug) Drug that increases the efficiency of the heart by strengthening its muscle contractions and slowing its rate. It is derived from the leaves of the common European woodland plant
Digitalis purpurea (foxglove). It is purified to digoxin, digitoxin, and lanatoside C, wh...
discipleFollower, especially of a religious leader. The word is used in the Bible for the early followers of Jesus. The 12 disciples closest to him are known as the apostles
Divine Light MissionReligious movement founded in India in 1960, which gained a prominent following in the USA in the 1970s. It proclaims Guru Maharaj Ji as the present age's successor to the gods or religious leaders Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. He is believed to be able to provide his followers with the knowledge required to attain salvation
Director of Public ProsecutionsIn the UK, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (established in 1985), responsible for the conduct of all criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. The DPP was formerly responsible only for the prosecution of certain serious crimes, such as murder
DiMaggio, Joe(Joseph Paul) US baseball player with the New York Yankees 1936–51, with whom he won the World Series ten times. In 1941 he set a record – yet to be surpassed – by getting hits in 56 consecutive games. He was an outstanding fielder, played centre field, hit 361 home runs, and ha...
Diaz de Solís, JuanSpanish explorer in South America who reached the estuary of the Río de la Plata, and was killed and reputedly eaten by cannibals
disaccharideSugar made up of two monosaccharides or simple sugars. Sucrose, C
12H
22O
11, or table sugar, is a disaccharide
direct currentElectric current in which the electrons (negative charge) flow in one direction, and that does not reverse its flow as alternating current does. The electricity produced by a battery is direct current. Electromagnets and electric trains use direct current. If in one second one coulomb of electrons passes a given point, then the current flow is 1 am...
distance ratioIn a machine, the distance moved by the input force, or effort, divided by the distance moved by the output force, or load. The ratio is equivalent to the machine's velocity ratio and indicates the force multiplication (or reduction) achieved
digitAny of the numbers from 0 to 9 in the decimal system. Different bases have different ranges of digits. For example, the hexadecimal system has digits 0 to 9 and A to F, whereas the binary system has two digits (or bits), 0 and 1
Diouf, AbdouSenegalese left-wing politician, president 1981–2000. He became prime minister in 1970 under President Léopold Senghor and, on his retirement, succeeded him, being re-elected in 1983, 1988, and, in multiparty elections, in 1993. Despite a controversial law passed in 1998 making him president for life, presidential elections were h...
differenceIn mathematics, the result obtained when subtracting one number from another. Also, those elements of one set that are not elements of another
directed numberIn mathematics, number with a positive (+) or negative (-) sign attached, for example +5 or -5. On a graph, a positive sign shows a movement to the right or upwards; a negative sign indicates movement downwards or to the left
diaphragm(contraceptive) Barrier contraceptive that is passed into the vagina to fit over the cervix (neck of the uterus), preventing sperm from entering the uterus. For a cap to be effective, a spermicide must be used and the diaphragm left in place for six to eight hours after intercourse. This metho...
dilutionProcess of reducing the concentration of a solution by the addition of a solvent. The extent of a dilution normally indicates the final volume of solution required. A fivefold dilution would mean the addition of sufficient solvent to make the final volume five times the original
displacement reactionChemical reaction in which a less reactive element is replaced in a compound by a more reactive one. For example, the addition of powdered zinc to a solution of copper(II) sulphate displaces copper metal, which can be detected by its characteristic colour: Zn
(s) + CuSO
4(aq) ® ZnSO
...
dissociation
In chemistry, the process whereby a single compound splits into two or more smaller products, which may be capable of recombining to form the reactant. Where dissociation is incomplete (not all the compound's molecules dissociate), a chemical equilibrium exists between the compound and its dissociation products. The extent of incomplete dissoci...
disability
Limitation of a person's ability to carry out the activities of daily living, to the extent that he or she may need help in doing so. In many countries, people with disabilities are entitled to a range of benefits, including attendance and mobility allowances, concessions in parking and on public transport, and others. Many countries have also ...
disease
Condition that disturbs or impairs the normal state of an organism. Diseases can occur in all living things, and normally affect the functioning of cells, tissues, organs, or systems. Diseases are usually characterized by specific symptoms and signs, and can be mild and short-lasting (such as the...
digital recording
Technique whereby the pressure of sound waves is sampled more than 30,000 times a second and the values converted by computer into precise numerical values. These are recorded and, during playback, are reconverted to sound waves. This technique can give very high-quality reproduction. The numerical values converted by computer represent the ori...
digital data transmission
In computing, a way of sending data by converting all signals (whether pictures, sounds, or words) into numeric (normally binary) codes before transmission, then reconverting them on receipt. This virtually eliminates any distortion or degradation of the signal during transmission, storage, or processing
diorite
Igneous rock intermediate in composition between mafic (consisting primarily of dark-coloured minerals) and felsic (consisting primarily of light-coloured minerals) – the coarse-grained plutonic equivalent of andesite. Constituent minerals include feldspar and amphibole or pyroxene with only minor amounts of quartz
dimension
In science, any directly measurable physical quantity such as mass (M), length (L), and time (T), and the derived units obtainable by multiplication or division from such quantities. For example, acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) has dimensions (LT-2), and is expressed in such units as km s-2<...
diaphragm
(anatomy) In mammals, a thin muscular sheet separating the thorax from the abdomen. It is attached by way of the ribs at either side and the breastbone and backbone, and a central tendon. Arching upwards against the heart and lungs, the diaphragm is important in the mechanics of breathing. It ...
dichotomous key
In biology, a practical method used to identify species. The key is written so that identification is done in steps. At each step, features of the organism are used to identify which one of two routes through the rest of the key is appropriate to the organism being identified. Dichotomous keys assume a good knowledge of the subject under investigat...
dipole, magnetic
See magnetic dipole
distance–time graph
Graph used to describe the motion of a body by illustrating the relationship between the distance that it travels and the time taken. Plotting distance (on the vertical axis) against time (on the horizontal axis) produces a graph, the gradient of which at any point is the body's speed at that poi...
diatomic molecule
Molecule composed of two atoms joined together, which may be atoms of the same (such as oxygen, O2) or of different elements (such as hydrogen fluoride, HF)
dissolution
The process of dissolving. In chemistry the term is sometimes used to describe the dissolving of a precipitate when an excess of the reagent that produced the precipitate is added
dinitrogen oxide
Alternative name for nitrous oxide, or `laughing gas`, one of the nitrogen oxides
diet
(food) Range of foods eaten by an animal each day; it is also a particular selection of food, or the total amount and choice of food for a specific person or group of people. Most animals require seven kinds of food in their diet: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, wate...
dispersal
In biology, phase of reproduction during which gametes, eggs, seeds, or offspring move away from the parents into other areas. The result is that overcrowding is avoided and parents do not find themselves in competition with their own offspring. The mechanisms are various, including a reliance on wind or water currents and, in the case of animals, ...
dizziness
Another word for vertigo
dissection
Cutting apart of bodies to study their organization, or tissues to gain access to a site in surgery. Postmortem dissection was considered a sin in the Middle Ages. In the UK before 1832, hanged murderers were the only legal source of bodies, supplemented by graverobbing (William Burke and William Hare were the most notorious grave robbers). The Ana...
diffusion
Click images to enlargeNet spontaneous and random movement of molecules or particles in a fluid (gas or liquid) from a region in which they are at a high concentration to a region of lower concentration, until a uniform concentration is achieved throughout. The difference in concentration between two such regions is calle...
dipole
(physics) Uneven distribution of magnetic or electrical characteristics within a molecule or substance so that it behaves as though it possesses two equal but opposite poles or charges, a finite distance apart. The uneven distribution of electrons within a molecule composed of atoms of differe...
distillation
Technique used to purify liquids or to separate mixtures of liquids possessing different boiling points. Simple distillation is used in the purification of liquids or the separation of substances in solution from their solvents – for example, in the production of pure water from a salt solution ...
direct debit
In banking, an instruction by a depositor with the bank to pay a certain sum of money at regular intervals
digital compact cassette
Digitally recorded audio cassette that is roughly the same size as a standard cassette. It cannot be played on a normal tape recorder, though standard tapes can be played on a DCC machine; this is known as `backwards compatibility`. The playing time is 90 minutes. A DCC player has a stationary playback and recording head similar to th...
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
Full name of the insecticide DDT
disk
(computing) In computing, a common medium for storing large volumes of data. A magnetic disk is rotated at high speed in a disk-drive unit as a read/write (playback or record) head passes over its surfaces to record or read th...
digital-to-analogue converter
Electronic circuit that converts a digital signal into an analogue (continuously varying) signal. Such a circuit is used to convert the digital output from a computer into the analogue voltage required to produce sound from a conventional loudspeaker
digitizer
In computing, a device that converts an analogue video signal into a digital format so that video images can be input, stored, displayed, and manipulated by a computer. The term is also sometimes used to refer to a graphics tablet
direct access
Type of file access. A direct-access file contains records that can be accessed by the computer directly because each record has its own address on the storage disk. Direct access storage media include CD-ROMs and magnetic disks (such as floppy disks)
directory
In computing, a list of file names, together with information that enables a computer to retrieve those files from backing storage. The computer operating system will usually store and update a directory on the backing storage to which it refers. So, for example, on each disk used by a computer a directory file will be created listing the disk'...
disk formatting
In computing, preparing a blank magnetic disk in order that data can be stored on it. Data are recorded on a disk's surface on circular tracks, each of which is divided into a number of sectors. In formatting a disk, the computer's operating system adds control information such as track and sector numbers, which enables the data stored to b...
distance
The space between two points. Distance is normally measured using centimetres, metres, and kilometres. Straight-line distances on a map can be easily measured with a ruler or straight edge. Simply convert the ruler measurement to distance, using the scale provided on the map. Twisting routes can be measured with a length of string, which is the...
diversification
In business, the development by companies, sectors, or countries of different types of products, markets, and activities, or the holding by investors of a varied share portfolio to spread risk. For example: a company may diversify if its original area of operation is becoming less profitable; diversification in the UK agricultural sector ha...
dirigible
Another name for airship
