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


alphanumeric data
Data made up of any of the letters of the alphabet and any digit from 0 to 9. The classification of data according to the type or types of character contained enables computer validation systems to check the accuracy of data: a computer can be programmed to reject entries that contain the wrong type of character. For example, a person's nam...

alluvium
Sediments laid down by streams and rivers. The most common constituents are clay, silt, and gravel. The loose, unconsolidated material forms features such as river terraces, flood plains, and deltas. Alluvium is deposited along the river channel where the water's velocity is too low to transport the river's load – for example, on the i...

altitude
(height) Measurement of height, usually given in metres (or feet) above sea level

Alicante
(city) Seaport and administrative capital of Alicante province, southeast Spain, situated on the Mediterranean coast, 123 km/77 mi south of Valencia; population (2001) 284,600. It exports wine, olive oil, and fruit, and has ferry services to the Balearic Islands. There is food-proc...

Alemanni
Germanic people who from the 2nd century occupied an area bounded by the rivers Rhine, Danube, and Main. They were part of the medieval western German grouping of peoples that also included Franks, Saxons, Frisians, and Thuringians. Late in the 5th century they crossed the Rhine and Danube and settled in what is now Alsace and northern Switzerland,...

altarpiece
A painting (more rarely a sculpture) placed on, behind, or above an altar in a Christian church. Altarpieces vary greatly in size, construction, and number of images (diptych, triptych, and polyptych). Some are small and portable; some (known as a retable or reredos – there is no clear distinction) are fixed. A typical Italian altarpiece h...

allegretto
In music, a tempo marking indicating moderately quick, but not as fast as allegro

Alania
Autonomous republic in the south of the Russian Federation, on the border with Georgia; area 8,000 sq km/3,088 sq mi; population (1992) 695,000. A new constitution was adopted in 1994 and the republic took its former name of Alania. The capital is Vladikavkaz (formerly Ordzhonikidze). Alania lies on the northern slopes of the central Ca...

Altai
(republic) Republic of the Russian Federation, within the Altai krai (territory) of southern Siberia; area 92,600 sq km/35,752 sq mi; population (1996) 202,000 (24% urban). The oblast was formed in 1922, and Altai was formed after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1992. I...

altar
Table (usually of stone) on which sacrifice is offered; in Christian churches, the table where the Eucharist is performed. Early sacrificial hearths have been excavated in Palestine. Later there were two kinds of altar in use among the Jews, for burnt offering and incense respectively. In ancient Greece and Rome, altars were low pedestals that ...

Alaskan malamute
Breed of dog. It is a type of husky

Alcibiades
Athenian politician and general during the Peloponnesian War. In 415 BC Alcibiades was appointed one of the commanders of an Athenian expedition against Sicily, but was recalled to answer charges of sacrilege and fled to Sparta. Further scandal led to his flight to Persia, but he rehabilitated himself with the Athenians and played a leading part at...

Alexander
(III) King of Macedon 336–323 BC and conqueror of the Persian Empire. As commander of the powerful Macedonian army he conquered Greece in 336 BC, defeated the Persian king Darius III in Asia Minor in 333 BC, then moved on to Egyp...

Alps, Australian
See Australian Alps

Alps, Southern
See Southern Alps

Alpha Centauri
Brightest star in the constellation Centaurus; see Rigil Kent

Altay
Alternative spelling for Altai in Russia

allegory
(art) In art, a story or message represented visually. Sometimes the literal meaning in the painting is clear, but some examples can be interpreted as having another, parallel meaning. In the second example, the literal content of the work can stand for more abstract ideas, perhaps suggesting ...

alcohol, effects
In biology, the effects of alcohol on cells. Alcohol differs from many other organic chemicals by affecting the way nerve cells operate when present in the body. At high concentrations it is poisonous and can kill all forms of life, including micro-organisms. In fact, alcohol can be used to preserve the remains of animals and plants for ever by...

Alger
Alternative name of Algiers, the capital of Algeria

Al Basrah
Arabic name for Basra, the principal city in southeast Iraq; and Basra, a governate of Iraq

Al-Quds
Arabic name for the Middle Eastern city of Jerusalem

Al Madinah
Arabic name for Medina, the second holiest city of Islam, situated in Saudi Arabia

Albert II, Crown Prince
Ruler of Monaco from 2005. The only son of Prince Rainier and his US wife, Grace Kelly, he served briefly in the French navy and then worked as an intern for various companies in France and the USA. After his mother's death in a car accident in 1982, he returned to Monaco and increasingly took on ambassadorial duties as his father's health ...

American literature
See United States literature

ammeter
Instrument that measures electric current (flow of charge per unit time), usually in amperes, through a conductor. It should not be confused with a voltmeter, which measures potential difference between two points in a circuit. The ammeter is placed in series (see series circuit) with the component through which current is to be measured, and is co...

ammonia
Colourless pungent-smelling gas, lighter than air and very soluble in water. It is made on an industrial scale by the Haber (or Haber–Bosch) process, and used mainly to produce nitrogenous fertilizers, nitric acid, and some explosives. In aquatic organisms and some insects, nitrogenous waste...

amine
Any of a class of organic chemical compounds in which one or more of the hydrogen atoms of ammonia (NH3) have been replaced by other groups of atoms. Depending on the number of hydrogens replaced by an organic molecule, one distinguishes between primary, secondary, and tertiary amines. All three types tend to be stronger base...

americium
Radioactive metallic element of the actinide series, atomic number 95, relative atomic mass 243.13; it was first synthesized in 1944. It occurs in nature in minute quantities in pitchblende and other uranium ores, where it is produced from the decay of neutron-bombarded plutonium, and is the element with the highest atomic number that occur...

amylase
Enzyme that breaks down starch into a complex sugar that can be used in the body. It occurs widely in both plants and animals. In humans it is found in saliva and in the pancreatic digestive juices that drain into the alimentary canal. Starch is an important food for humans and is found in plants such as potatoes and in wheat grains. It is made of ...

amino acid
Click images to enlargeWater-soluble organic molecule, mainly composed of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, containing both a basic amino group (NH2) and an acidic carboxyl (COOH) group. They are small molecules able to pass through membranes. When two or more amino acids are joined togeth...

Amis, Martin Louis
English novelist and journalist. His works are characterized by their sharp black humour and depict the absurdity and excesses of modern society. They include The Rachel Papers (1973, winner of 1974 Somerset Maugham Award), a memoir of adolescence told through flashbacks; Dead Babies (1975), which addresses...

Amu Darya
River in central Asia, flowing 2,530 km/1,578 mi from the Pamirs to the Aral Sea

Amsterdam
Constitutional capital and largest city of the Netherlands; population (2003 est) 737,900. The Netherlands' second most important port after Rotterdam, Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea by the North Sea Canal, completed in 1876. A new canal leading to the River Waal, south of Utrecht, w...

Amritsar
Holy city of Sikhism and industrial centre in the Punjab, India; population (2001 est) 1,011,300. The centre of the Sikh faith, it contains the Golden Temple, surrounded by the sacred pool Amrit Saras; and the Guru Nanak Dev University (1969; named after the first Sikh guru), which was established as the main Sikh educational centre. Th...

amphetamine
Powerful synthetic stimulant. Benzedrine was the earliest amphetamine marketed, used as a `pep pill` in World War II to help soldiers to overcome fatigue, and until the 1970s amphetamines were prescribed by doctors as an appetite suppressant for weight loss; as an antidepressant, to induce euphoria; and as a stimulant, to increase...

Amoy
Port in Fujian province, southeast China, known by its Mandarin name of Xiamen

ampere
SI unit of electrical current. Electrical current (a flow of negative charge) is measured in a similar way to water current, in terms of an amount per unit time; one ampere (amp) represents a flow of one coulomb per second, which is about 6.28 × 1018 electrons per second. When a charge (Q) of one c...

Amis, Kingsley
(William) English novelist and poet. He was associated early on with the Angry Young Men group of writers. His sharply ironic works include his first novel, the best-selling Lucky Jim (1954), a comic portrayal of life at a provincial university. His later novels include ...

Ammon
In Egyptian mythology, king of the gods; the equivalent of the Greek Zeus (Roman Jupiter). The Egyptian pharaohs identified themselves with his supremacy, adopting his name as in Tutankhamen. In art he is represented as a ram or goose, as a man with a ram's head, or as a ma...

Amin
(Dada) Ugandan politician, president 1971–79. He led the coup that deposed Milton Obote in 1971, expelled the Asian community in 1972, and exercised a reign of terror over his people during which an estimated 300,000 people were killed. After he invaded Tanzania in 1978, the Tanzanian arm...

American Civil War
1861–65; see Civil War, American

Amies,
(Edwin) English couturier. He was noted for his tailored clothes for women and menswear designs. From 1948, he was one of Queen Elizabeth II's dressmakers. In 1950 he opened a ready-to-wear boutique and was awarded a royal warrant in 1955. In 1961 he became linked with Hepworths an...

amber
Fossilized resin from coniferous trees of the Middle Tertiary period. It is often washed ashore on the Baltic coast with plant and animal specimens preserved in it; many extinct species have been found preserved in this way. It ranges in colour from red to yellow, and is used to make jewellery. When amber is rubbed with cloth, it attracts light...

Amazon
(warrior) In Greek mythology, a member of a group of female warriors living near the Black Sea, who cut off their right breasts to use the bow more easily. Their queen Penthesilea was killed by Achilles at the siege of Troy. The term Amazon has come to mean a large, strong woman. The Amazons a...

Amarillo
City in the panhandle of northern Texas, USA, situated on the high plains, west of the Canadian and Red rivers in Potter and Randal counties; population (2000 est) 173,600. The centre of the world's largest cattle-producing area, it processes the live animal into frozen supermarket packets in a single continuous operation on an assembly...

amphitheatre
Click images to enlargeLarge oval or circular building used by the Romans for gladiatorial contests, fights of wild animals, and other similar events. It is an open structure with a central arena surrounded by rising rows of seats. The Colosseum in Rome, completed in AD 80, held 50,000 spectators

Amman
Capital and chief industrial and commercial centre of Jordan, 80 km/50 mi northeast of Jerusalem; population (2004) 1,036,300. It is a major communications centre, linking historic trade routes across the Middle East, and is served by major roads to the west and by Jordan's main north-south highway which links the city to the port o...

Amiens
Administrative centre of Somme département and the major town in the Picardy region of northeast France, 130 km/81 mi north of Paris at the confluence of the rivers Somme and Avre; population (1999) 135,400. Situated in an area irrigated by canals, it has been a market-gardening region and textile centre since th...

amethyst
Variety of quartz, SiO2, coloured violet by the presence of small quantities of impurities such as manganese or iron; used as a semi-precious stone. Amethysts are found chiefly in the Ural Mountains, India, the USA, Uruguay, and Brazil

America
Landmass in the Western hemisphere of the Earth, comprising the continents of North America and South America, with Central America in between. This great landmass extends from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from beyond 75° N to past 55° S. The area is about 42,000,000 sq km/16,000,000 sq...

ambergris
Fatty substance, resembling wax, found in the stomach and intestines of the sperm whale. It is found floating in warm seas, and is used in perfumery as a fixative. Basically intestinal matter, ambergris is not the result of disease, but the product of an otherwise normal intestine. The name derives from the French ambre gris (gre...

ambassador
Officer of the highest rank in the diplomatic service, who represents the head of one sovereign state at the court or capital of another

Amazon
(river) River in South America, the second longest in the world, after the Nile; length 6,516 km/4,050 mi. The Amazon ranks as the largest river in the world in terms of the volume of water it discharges (around 95,000 cu m/3.3 million cu ft every second), its number of tributaries...

Amalfi
Seaport and resort in Campania, Italy, situated at the foot of Monte Cerrato, on the Gulf of Salerno, 39 km/24 mi southeast of Naples; population (1990) 5,900. For 700 years it was an independent republic. It is an ancient archiepiscopal see (seat of an archbishop) and has a Romanesque cathedral

amanita
Click images to enlargeAny of a group of fungi (see fungus) distinguished by a ring (or volva) around the base of the stalk, warty patches on the cap, and the clear white colour of the gills. Many of the species are brightly coloured and highly poisonous. (Genus Amanita, family Agaricaceae.)

Amur
River in east Asia, which with its tributary, the Ussuri, forms the boundary between Russia and China for much of its course. Formed by the Argun and Shilka rivers, the Amur flows for over 4,400 km/2,730 mi and enters the Sea of Okhotsk. At its mouth at Nikolevsk it is 16 km/10 mi wide

amalgam
Any alloy of mercury with other metals. Most metals will form amalgams, except iron and platinum. Amalgam is used in dentistry for filling teeth, and usually contains copper, silver, and zinc as the main alloying ingredients. This amalgam is pliable when first mixed and then sets hard, but the mercury leaches out and may cause a type of heavy-m...

amplitude
(physics) In physics, maximum variation of an oscillation from the equilibrium value. In a transverse wave motion, such as an ocean wave, it is the height of a crest (or the depth of a trough). In an electromagnetic wave (which is also transverse), it is the maximum intensity of the electric o...

ammonite
Extinct marine cephalopod mollusc of the order Ammonoidea, related to the modern nautilus. The shell was curled in a plane spiral and made up of numerous gas-filled chambers, the outermost containing the body of the animal. Many species flourished between 200 million and 65 million years ago, ranging in size from that of a small coin to 2 m/...

amoeba
Click images to enlargeOne of the simplest living animals, consisting of a single cell and belonging to the protozoa group. The body consists of colourless protoplasm. Its activities are controlled by the nucleus, and it feeds by flowing round and engulfing organic debris. It reproduces by binary fission. Some species of ...

amphibian
Click images to enlargeMember of the vertebrate class Amphibia, which generally spend their larval (tadpole) stage in fresh water, transferring to land at maturity (after metamorphosis) and generally returning to water to breed. Like fish and reptiles, they continue to grow throughout life, and cannot maintain a temperatu...

Amritsar Massacre
The killing of 379 Indians (and wounding of 1,200) in Amritsar, at the site of a Sikh religious shrine in the Punjab in 1919. British troops under Gen Edward Dyer opened fire without warning on a crowd of some 10,000, assembled to protest against the arrest of two Indian National Congress leaders (see Congress Party)

American Samoa
See Samoa, American

amp
In physics, abbreviation for ampere, a unit of electrical current

America's Cup
International yacht-racing trophy named after the US schooner America, owned by J C Stevens, who won a race around the Isle of Wight in 1851. Offered for a challenge in 1870, it is a nine-race series. A preliminary competition, the Louis Vuitton Cup, is held to determine which boat will challenge the defending champion in...

amnesia
Loss or impairment of memory. As a clinical condition it may be caused by disease or injury to the brain, by some drugs, or by shock; in some cases it may be a symptom of an emotional disorder

Amenhotep III
King (pharaoh) of ancient Egypt. He built great monuments at Thebes, including the temples at Luxor. Two portrait statues at his mortuary temple were known to the Greeks as the colossi of Memnon; one was cracked, and when the temperature changed at dawn it gave out an eerie sound, then thought supernatural. His son Amenhotep IV changed his name...

amniocentesis
Sampling the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus in the womb for diagnostic purposes. It is used to detect Down's syndrome and other genetic abnormalities. The procedure carries a 1 in 200 risk of miscarriage

amyl alcohol
Former name for pentanol

Amar Das
Indian religious leader, third guru (teacher) of Sikhism 1552–74. He laid emphasis on equality and opposed the caste system. He further institutionalized the custom of the langar (communal meal), and called for Sikhs to gather during traditional Hindu festivals. The three Sikh melas (annual festivals) – Baisakhi Mela, Diwali, and Hola Moh...

Amida Buddha
The `Buddha of immeasurable light`, venerated especially in Pure Land Buddhism. A former king who became a Buddha through his devotion to Buddhism and the dharma, he presides over the Western Paradise (the Buddha-land of his own creation). Through his unlimited compassion and power to save, devotees can be reborn there to achieve enli...

Amhara
An ethnic group comprising approximately 25% of the population of Ethiopia; 13 million (1987). The Amhara are traditionally farmers. They speak Amharic, a language of the Semitic branch of the Hamito-Semitic (Afro-Asiatic) family. Most are members of the Ethiopian Christian Church

Amal
Radical Lebanese Shiite military force, established by Musa Sadr in the 1970s; its headquarters are in Borj al-Barajneh. The movement split into extremist and moderate groups in 1982, but both sides agreed on the aim of increasing Shiite political representation in Lebanon. Amal guerrillas were responsible for many of the attacks and kidnap...

American Federation of Labor
Federation of North American trade unions, representing through 68 affiliated unions, 13 million workers, or about 14% of the workforce in North America (2000). The AFL was founded 1886 by Samuel Gompers and was initially a union of skilled craftworkers. The CIO, representing unskilled workers, broke away from the AFL in the mid-1930s. A me...

amnesty
Act of state granted by a government by which pardon of certain past offences is accorded . This may be in the form of the release of political prisoners under a general pardon, or of the release of a person or group of people from criminal liability for a particular action. In addition, there are occasional amnesties for those who surrender firear...

amide
Any organic chemical derived from a carboxylic acid by the replacement of the hydroxyl group (OH) by an amino group (NH2). One of the simplest amides is ethanamide (acetamide, CH3CONH2), which has a strong odour

American Independence, War of
Alternative name of the American Revolution, the revolt 1775–83 of the British North American colonies that resulted in the establishment of the United States of America

Amazonian Indian
Indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon River Basin in South America. The majority of the societies are kin-based; traditional livelihood includes hunting and gathering, fishing, and shifting cultivation. A wide range of indigenous languages are spoken. Numbering perhaps 2.5 million in the 16th century, they had been reduced to perhaps one-...

American Revolution
Click images to enlargeRevolt 1775–83 of the British North American colonies, resulting in the establishment of the USA. It was caused by opposition in the colonies to British economic exploitation and by the unwillingness of the colonists to pay for a British army garrisoned in America. It was also fuelled by the co...

ammonium nitrate
Colourless, crystalline solid, prepared by neutralization of nitric acid with ammonia; the salt is crystallized from the solution. It sublimes on heating

amplifier
Electronic device that increases the strength of a signal, such as a radio signal. The ratio of output signal strength to input signal strength is called the gain of the amplifier. As well as achieving high gain, an amplifier should be free from distortion and able to operate over a range of frequencies. Practical amplifiers are usually complex cir...

amplitude modulation
Method by which radio waves carry information. AM waves are constant in frequency, but the amplitude of the transmitting wave continually varies in accordance with the signal being broadcast

AM
In physics, abbreviation for amplitude modulation

Amazonia
Those regions of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia lying within the basin of the Amazon River

American football
See football, American

ambiguity
The possibility of more than one interpretation of a spoken or written expression. Ambiguity is used as a device in poetry when the writer wants to stimulate the reader's imagination and allow them to come to a personal view of what the poem means to them

American Indian art
Art and craft of the North American indigenous peoples from prehistory through to the modern era. Some groups maintain their ancient traditions, but much was lost during the period of European settlement. Art has always been part of everyday life for the American Indians, both for functional and ceremonial purposes. Each object is regarded as a pie...

America Online
US market-leading commercial information service. America Online was launched in 1986 with a bright, colourful graphical interface and a marketing campaign that issued free disks on almost every US magazine cover. In 1995 it out-performed the then market leader, CompuServe, and took it over in 1997. In January 2001 AOL acquired Time Warner ...

American Arbitration Service
The independent, nonprofit organization that provides panels for industrial and commercial disputes. The decisions are binding. The AAS has also developed administrative services that are available to both sides in a dispute. Arbitration in the US is required by many federal and state laws, but it often takes place through voluntary agreements. Tra...

Amazon.com
Online shop launched in 1995 by Jeff Bezos, originally selling only books, but since extended to selling CDs, videos, DVDs, toys and games, electronic items, clothes, and even furniture. By 2000 Amazon claimed 17 million customers in over 160 countries, and was one of the world's most visited Web sites, but had not yet made a profit. The compan...

amrit
Sweetened water used during Sikh ceremonies such as a naming ceremony (Nam Karan) and Amrit Sanskar (baptism into the Khalsa). The amrit is made in an iron or steel bowl by stirring sugar crystals and water with a kirpan (dagger). It is then drunk and sprinkled on the eyelids and hair of those for whom the ceremony is being held

Amrit Sanskar
In Sikhism, initiation into the Khalsa (Sikh community or order). The ceremony is conducted either at home or in the gurdwara by five initiated Sikhs, who represent the original Panj Pyares (`five faithful ones`). The initiates, who may be of either sex, wear the Panj Kakas (five Ks) as symbols of membership. After prayers and readings fr...

Amidah
Jewish Sabbath prayer. It is said silently while standing facing the ark, the enclosure that houses the Torah scrolls in a synagogue. The Amidah contains 18 benedictions stating many of the ways in which God helps and supports people throughout their lives

Antonine Wall
Roman line of fortification built in Scotland in 142 in the reign of Antoninus Pius (ruled 138–61). It was the Roman empire's furthest northwest frontier, between the Clyde and Forth rivers in Scotland. It was defended until about 200, after which the frontier returned to Hadrian's Wall. The Antonine Wall was built as a shorter and mor...

Antonioni, Michelangelo
Italian film director. He specialized in subtle presentations of neuroses and personal relationships among the leisured classes, with an elliptical approach to film narrative. His directorial credits include L'avventura/The Adventure (1959), L'eclisse/The Eclipse (1962), Il Deserto Ross...

antiseptic
Any substance that kills or inhibits the growth of micro-organisms. The use of antiseptics was pioneered by Joseph Lister. He used carbolic acid (phenol), which is a weak antiseptic; antiseptics such as TCP are derived from this. Lister's work was extended by surgeons such as William Cheyne, professor of surgery at Kings College Hospita...

antipodes
Places at opposite points on the globe

anti-Semitism
Prejudice or discrimination against, and persecution of, the Jews as an ethnic group. Historically, this has been practised for many different reasons, by the ancient Egyptians before the Exodus, under the Babylonian Captivity in 586 BC, and for almost 2,000 years by European Christians. Anti-Semitism was a tenet of Nazi Germany, and in the Hol...

Antioch
(Syria) Ancient capital of the Greek kingdom of Syria, founded 300 BC by Seleucus I in memory of his father Antiochus, and famed for its splendour and luxury. Under the Romans it was an early centre of Christianity. St Paul set off on his missionary journeys from here. It was captured by the A...