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


electromagnetism
In physics, the properties and interactions of magnetism and electric currents. A current flowing through a conductor produces a magnetic field around the conductor; a varying magnetic field interacting with a conductor produces a current in the conductor. This is known as the electromagnetic effect

electron flow
Movement of electrons through a material; the flow of negatively-charged electrons is known as an electric current. Electrons can be removed from the outer orbits of atoms by various techniques such as chemical reactions, friction, light, heat, pressure, or magnetism. Electrons in a circuit of a conducting material under the influence of an...

elastic potential energy
Energy stored in an object when it is deformed or changes its configuration. For example, by stretching a rubber band or compressing a spring, energy is stored in the band or spring. By releasing the stretched band or compressed spring, the elastic potential energy is converted to kinetic (motion) energy

electronic system
Artificial system in which electricity performs some useful function. The term usually, though not always, refers to a system in which the electric current is used to convey and process data, rather than transmit power. Electronic systems usually use relatively low currents. As with any electrical system, the electricity travels in a circuit. The i...

employment law
Law covering the rights and duties of employers and employees. During the 20th century, statute law rather than common law has increasingly been used to give new rights to employees. Industrial tribunals are statutory bodies that make judgement in disputes between employers and employees or trade unions and deal with complaints concerning unfair di...

emu
Click images to enlargeFlightless bird Dromaius novaehollandiae, family Dromaiidae, order Casuariidae, native to Australia. It stands about 1.8 m/6 ft high and has coarse brown plumage, small rudimentary wings, short feathers on the head and neck, and powerful legs, which are well adapted for runnin...

embryology
Study of the changes undergone by an organism from its conception as a fertilized ovum (egg) to its emergence into the world at hatching or birth. It is mainly concerned with the changes in cell organization in the embryo and the way in which these lead to the structures and organs of the adult (the process of differentiation). Applications of embr...

embryo
Click images to enlargeEarly developmental stage of an animal or a plant following fertilization of an ovum (egg cell), or activation of an ovum by parthenogenesis. In humans, the term embryo describes the fertilized egg during its first seven weeks of existence; from the eighth week onwards it is referred to as a fet...

empiricism
In philosophy, the belief that all knowledge is ultimately derived from sense experience. It is suspicious of metaphysical schemes based on a priori propositions, which are claimed to be true irrespective of experience. It is frequently contrasted with rationalism. Empiricism developed in the 17th and early 18th centuries through the work of John L...

emotivism
A philosophical position in the theory of ethics. Emotivists deny that moral judgements can be true or false, maintaining that they merely express an attitude or an emotional response. The concept came to prominence during the 1930s, largely under the influence of Language, Truth and Logic 1936 by the English philosopher A J Ayer

emphysema
Incurable lung condition characterized by disabling breathlessness. Progressive loss of the thin walls dividing the air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs reduces the area available for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, causing the lung tissue to expand. The term `emphysema` can also refer to the presence of air in other body tissues

Emilia-Romagna
Region of northern central Italy, comprising the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Forli, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio nell'Emilia, and Rimini; area 22,124 sq km/8,542 sq mi; population (2001 est) 3,960,600. The capital is Bologna; other towns include Reggio nell'Emilia, Rimini, Parma, Ferrara, and Ravenna. An economically p...

employment exchange
Agency for bringing together employers requiring labour and workers seeking employment. Employment exchanges may be organized by central government or by a local authority (known in the UK as Jobcentres), or as private business ventures (employment agencies)

emerald
Clear, green gemstone variety of the mineral beryl. It occurs naturally in Colombia, the Ural Mountains in Russia, Zimbabwe, and Australia. The green colour is caused by the presence of the element chromium in the beryl

Emmental
District in the valley of the Emme River, Bern canton, Switzerland, where a hard cheese of the same name has been made since the mid-15th century. The main town in Emmental is Langnau

Empedocles
Greek philosopher and scientist who proposed that the universe is composed of four elements – fire, air, earth, and water – which through the action of love and discord are eternally constructed, destroyed, and constructed anew. He lived in Acragas (Agrigentum), Sicily, and according to tradition, he committed suicide by throwing himself ...

Emerson, Ralph Waldo
Click images to enlargeUS philosopher, essayist, and poet. He settled in Concord, Massachusetts, which he made a centre of transcendentalism, and wrote Nature (1836), which states the movement's main principles emphasizing the value of self-reliance and the godlike nature of human souls. His two...

emergence
A philosophical theory of the early 20th century postulating that life `emerges` or `grows naturally` out of matter, mind emerges out of life, and God emerges from mind. It was propounded by C Lloyd Morgan (1852–1936), Samuel Alexander, and C D Broad

embroidery
Art of decorating fabric with a needle and thread. It includes broderie anglaise, gros point, and petit point, all of which have been used for the decoration of costumes, gloves, book covers, furnishings, and church vestments

emery
Black to greyish form of impure corundum that also contains the minerals magnetite and haematite. It is used as an abrasive

emulsion
Stable dispersion of a liquid in another liquid – for example, oil and water in some cosmetic lotions

emf
In physics, abbreviation for electromotive force

EMS
(economics) Abbreviation for European Monetary System

embargo
The prohibition of trade with a country by another country or international organization. Embargoes may be general (a total ban) or specific (relating to, for example, technology transfer, energy supplies, or weaponry). See also sanctions

emetic
Any substance administered to induce vomiting. Emetics are used to empty the stomach in many cases of deliberate or accidental drug overdose. The most frequently used is ipecacuanha

embolism
Blockage of a blood vessel by an obstruction called an embolus (usually a blood clot, fat particle, or bubble of air)

embezzlement
In law, theft by an employee of property entrusted to him or her by an employer

Emancipation Proclamation
Official order made by US president Abraham Lincoln on 22 September 1862, during the American Civil War, that freed slaves in Confederate (southern) states. The order stated that from 1 January 1863 all slaves in states that were still rebelling against the Union would be forever free. Border states ...

EMU
Abbreviation for Economic and Monetary Union, the common monetary system for the European Union (EU) including the European Central Bank (ECB) and the single currency (the euro)

Emin Pasha, Mehmed
German explorer, physician, and linguist. Appointed by British general Charles Gordon as chief medical officer and then governor of the Equatorial province of southern Sudan, he carried out extensive research in anthropology, botany, zoology, and meteorology. Schnitzer practised medicine in Albania. In 1876 he joined the Egyptian Service, where he ...

emulsifier
Food additive used to keep oils dispersed and in suspension, in products such as mayonnaise and peanut butter. Egg yolk is a naturally occurring emulsifier, but most of the emulsifiers in commercial use today are synthetic chemicals

emancipation
Being liberated, being set free from servitude or subjection of any kind. The changing role of women in social, economic, and particularly in political terms, in the 19th and 20th centuries is sometimes referred to as the `emancipation of women` (see also women's movement). In the UK, the 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act freed Roman Cat...

emotive language
Words used deliberately to create an emotional impact or response. Emotive language is particularly common in poetry, in which language is at its most condensed and evocative

Empire style
French decorative arts style prevalent during the rule of the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1804–14). A late form of neoclassicism, it featured motifs drawn from ancient Egyptian as well as Greek and Roman art. Dark woods and draperies were also frequently used. The influence of the style extended through Europe and North America

emotion
(psychology) In psychology, a powerful feeling; a complex state of body and mind involving, in its bodily aspect, changes in the viscera (main internal organs) and in facial expression and posture, and in its mental aspect, heightened perception, excitement and, sometimes, disturbance of t...

Emerson, Roy Stanley
Australian tennis player who won a record 12 men's Grand Slam singles titles 1961–67, which was surpassed by Pete Sampras in 2000. A right-handed player, renowned for his speed around the court, Emerson also won 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and was a member of the Australian team that won the Davis Cup eight times between 19...

Empire State Building
Landmark building in New York, New York. It is 443 m/1,454 ft high with 102 floors, and was the highest building in the world until 1970, when it was superseded by the World Trade Center, New York (which was destroyed in 2001 by a terrorist attack). It was built in 1930 at a cost of over US$4...

empire
Collective name for a group of countries under the control of a single country or dynasty. Major empires in Europe have included the Roman Empire and the British Empire, and in Asia the Ottoman Empire and Mogul Empire (see Mogul dynasty)

embedding
In grammar, inserting a clause into a sentence instead of joining it with a conjunctions, as in `His mother, making light of her difficulties, continued working.`

emulsify
In biology, to disperse fat as millions of microscopic globules suspended in water. Emulsification is an important stage prior to digestion of fat in the human gut. Fat is an important food, but it has to be digested to produce molecules small enough to be absorbed into the body. The enzyme that does this is soluble in water, but the fat itself is ...

emancipation of women
In Britain, the changing social, economic, and political role of women in the 19th and 20th centuries. The inequalities of Britain's traditionally male-dominated society were first voiced by the English feminist Mary Wollstonecraft in the late 18th-century. Great advances in women's rights were made over the subsequent centuries by ...

engineering
The application of science to the design, construction, and maintenance of works, machinery, roads, railways, bridges, harbour installations, engines, ships, aircraft and airports, spacecraft and space stations, and the generation, transmission, and use of electrical power. The main divisions of engineering are aerospace, chemical, civil, computer,...

English Channel
Stretch of water between England and France, leading in the west to the Atlantic Ocean, and in the east via the Strait of Dover to the North Sea; it is also known as La Manche (French `the sleeve`) from its shape. The Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994, runs between Folkestone, Kent, England, and Sangatte, west of Calais, France. The Engl...

endoplasm
Inner, liquid part of a cell's cytoplasm, as opposed to the ectoplasm

endive
Cultivated annual plant, the leaves of which are used in salads and cooking. One variety has narrow, curled leaves; another has wide, smooth leaves. It is related to chicory. (Cichorium endivia, family Compositae.)

endangered species
Click images to enlargePlant or animal species whose numbers are so few that it is at risk of becoming extinct. Officially designated endangered species are listed by the World Conservation Union (or IUCN). An endangered species is not a new phenomenon; extinction is an integral part of evolution. The replacement of o...

environment
In ecology, the sum of conditions affecting a particular organism, including physical surroundings, climate, and influences of other living organisms. Areas affected by environmental issues include the biosphere and habitat. In biology, the environment includes everything outside body cells and fluid surrounding the cells. This means that materials...

endosperm
Nutritive tissue in the seeds of most flowering plants. It surrounds the embryo and is produced by an unusual process that parallels the fertilization of the ovum by a male gamete. A second male gamete from the pollen grain fuses with two female nuclei within the embryo sac. Thus endosperm cells are triploid (having three sets of chromosomes); ...

endotherm
`Warm-blooded`, or homeothermic, animal. Endotherms have internal mechanisms for regulating their body temperatures to levels different from the environmental temperature. See homeothermy

endoskeleton
Internal supporting structure of vertebrates, made up of cartilage or bone. It provides support, and acts as a system of levers to which muscles are attached to provide movement. Certain parts of the skeleton (the skull and ribs) give protection to vital body organs. Sponges are supported by a network of rigid, or semirigid, spiky structures called...

endorphin
Natural substance (a polypeptide) that modifies the action of nerve cells. Endorphins are produced by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus of vertebrates. They lower the perception of pain by reducing the transmission of signals between nerve cells. Endorphins not only regulate pain and hunger, but are also involved in the release of sex hormones f...

endocrine gland
Gland that secretes hormones into the bloodstream to regulate body processes. Endocrine glands are most highly developed in vertebrates, but are also found in other animals, notably insects. In humans the main endocrine glands are the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreas, ovary, and tes...

Enlightenment
European intellectual movement that reached its high point in the 18th century. Enlightenment thinkers were believers in social progress and in the liberating possibilities of rational and scientific knowledge. They were often critical of existing society and were hostile to religion, which they saw as keeping the human mind chained down by superst...

English language
Member of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is traditionally described as having passed through four major stages over about 1,500 years: Old English or Anglo-Saxon (c. 500–1050), rooted in the dialects of invading settlers (Jutes, Saxons...

entropy
In thermodynamics, a parameter representing the state of disorder of a system at the atomic, ionic, or molecular level; the greater the disorder, the higher the entropy. Thus the fast-moving disordered molecules of water vapour have higher entropy than those of more ordered liquid water, which in turn have more entropy than the molecules in...

Entente Cordiale
Agreement reached by Britain and France in 1904 recognizing British interests in Egypt and French interests in Morocco. It was expressly designed to check the colonial ambitions of the German Second Empire under William II. Though not a formal alliance, the Entente generated tripartite cooperation between Britain, France, and Russia from 1907 (the ...

England
Click images to enlargeLargest constituent part of the United Kingdom; area 130,357 sq km/50,331 sq mi; population (2001) 49,138,800. The capital is London, and other main towns and cities include Birmingham, Cambridge, Coventry, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield,...

energy
Capacity for doing work. This work may be as simple as reading a book, using a computer, or driving a car. Without energy no activity is possible. Energy can exist in many different forms. For example, potential energy (PE) is energy deriving from position; thus a stretched spring has elastic PE,...

encyclical
Letter addressed by the pope to Roman Catholic bishops for the benefit of the people. The first was issued by Benedict XIV in 1740, but encyclicals became common only in the 19th century. They may be doctrinal (condemning errors), exhortative (recommending devotional activities), or commemorative. Recent encyclicals include Pacem in terris...

enclosure
In Britain, seizure of common land and change to private property, or the changing of open-field systems (farming in strips apportioned over two or three large fields) to enclosed fields owned by individual farmers. The enclosed fields were often used for sheep. This process began in the 14th cen...

encephalitis
Inflammation of the brain, nearly always due to viral infection but it may also occur in bacterial and other infections. It varies widely in severity, from shortlived, relatively slight effects of headache, drowsiness, and fever to paralysis, coma, and death

entomology
Study of insects

Enver Pasha
Turkish politician and soldier. He led the military revolt of 1908 that resulted in the Young Turks' revolution (see Turkey). He was killed fighting the Bolsheviks in Turkestan

enterprise zone
Former special zone introduced in the UK in 1980 and designated by government to encourage industrial and commercial activity, usually in economically-depressed areas such as the Isle of Dogs in London's Docklands area. Investment was attracted by means of tax reduction and other financial incentives. Enterprise zones no longer exist, but a...

Entebbe
City in Uganda, on the northwest shore of Lake Victoria, 20 km/12 mi southwest of Kampala, the capital; 1,136 m/3,728 ft above sea level; population (2002 est) 57,500. Founded in 1893, it was the administrative centre of Uganda 1894–1962. The international airport of Uganda is here. Industries include tourism and fishing. In 19...

entail
In law, the settlement of land or other property on a successive line of people, usually succeeding generations of the original owner's family. An entail can be either general, in which case it simply descends to the heirs, or special, when it descends according to a specific arrangement – for example, to children by a named wife. Entails ...

Ennis
County town of County Clare, Republic of Ireland, on the River Fergus, 32 km/20 mi northwest of Limerick; population (2002) 22,050. There are distilleries, flour mills, and furniture manufacturing. In the town are a Roman Catholic cathedral and college, and a Franciscan friary, Ennis Friary, founded about 1241. Shannon international airport...

engraving
Art of creating a design by means of inscribing blocks of metal, wood, or some other hard material with a point. With intaglio printing the design is cut into the surface of a plate, usually metal. It is these cuts, often very fine, which hold the ink. In relief printing, by contrast, it is the areas left when the rest has been cut away which are i...

English literature
Prose and poetry fiction and non-fiction writing written in the English language in the UK. The development of English literature from Old English literature to the present day can be traced through several different literary periods identifiable by their artistic theory, methods, and concerns

English law
One of the major European legal systems, Roman law being the other. English law has spread to many other countries, including former English colonies such as the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. English law has an evolving history dating from the local customs of the Anglo-Saxons, traces of which survived until 1925. After the Norman Co...

Engels, Friedrich
Click images to enlargeGerman social and political philosopher, a friend of, and collaborator with, Karl Marx on The Communist Manifesto (1848) and other key works. His later interpretations of Marxism, and his own philosophical and historical studies such as Origins of the Family, Private Prop...

Enfield
Outer borough of northeast Greater London. It includes the districts of Edmonton and Southgate. features the royal hunting ground of Enfield Chase partly survives in the `green belt`; early 17th-century Forty Hall; Lea Valley Regional Park, opened 1967 industries engineering (the Royal Small Arms factory, which closed 1989, pr...

encaustic painting
Ancient technique of painting, commonly used by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, in which coloured pigments were mixed with molten wax and painted on panels. In the 20th century the technique was used by the US artist Jasper Johns

encyclopedia
Work of reference covering either all fields of knowledge or one specific subject. Although most encyclopedias are alphabetical, with cross-references, some are organized thematically with indexes, to keep related subjects together. The earliest extant encyclopedia is the Historia Naturalis/Natural History AD 23–79 o...

enamel
Vitrified (glasslike) coating of various colours used for decorative purposes on a metallic or porcelain surface. In cloisonné the various sections of the design are separated by thin metal wires or strips. In champlevé the enamel is poured into engraved cavities in the metal surface. The ancient art of enamelling is believed to be of Mid...

energy, alternative
Click images to enlargeEnergy from sources that are renewable and ecologically safe, as opposed to sources that are non-renewable with toxic by-products, such as coal, oil, or gas (fossil fuels), and uranium (for nuclear power). The most important alternative energy source is flowing water, harnessed as hydroelect...

engineering drawing
Technical drawing that forms the plans for the design and construction of engineering components and structures. Engineering drawings show different projections, or views of objects, with the relevant dimensions, and show how all the separate parts fit together. They are often produced by computers using computer-aided design (CAD)

environment–heredity controversy
See nature–nurture controversy

endowment insurance
A type of life insurance that may produce profits. An endowment policy will run for a fixed number of years during which it accumulates a cash value; it can provide a savings plan for a retirement fund

entrepreneur
In business, a person who successfully manages and develops an enterprise through personal skill and initiative. Examples include US industrialist John D Rockefeller, US manufacturer Henry Ford, English businesswoman Anita Roddick, and English businessman Richard Branson. An entrepreneur is generally willing to take risks in pursuit of profit

endoscopy
Examination of internal organs or tissues by an instrument allowing direct vision. An endoscope is equipped with an eyepiece, lenses, and its own light source to illuminate the field of vision. The endoscope used to examine the digestive tract is a flexible fibreoptic instrument swallowed by the patient. There are various types of endoscope in use ...

endometriosis
Common gynaecological complaint in which patches of endometrium (the lining of the womb) are found outside the uterus. This ectopic (abnormally positioned) tissue is present most often in the ovaries, although it may invade any pelvic or abdominal site, as well as the vagina and rectum. Endometriosis may be treated with analgesics, hormone preparat...

enlightenment
In Buddhism, the term used to translate the Sanskrit bodhi `awakening`: the transcendence of worldy values to perceive the true nature of the world and the unreality of the self, and the liberation from suffering (dukkha). By experience of bodhi, nirvana is attained

Environmentally Sensitive Area
Scheme introduced by the UK Ministry of Agriculture in 1984, as a result of European Community (EC) legislation, to protect some of the most beautiful areas of the UK countryside from the loss and damage caused by agricultural change. The first areas to be designated ESAs were in the Pennine Dales, the North Peak District, the Norfolk Broads, the B...

Environmental Protection Agency
US agency set up in 1970 to control water and air quality, industrial and commercial wastes, pesticides, noise, and radiation. In its own words, it aims to protect `the country from being degraded, and its health threatened, by a multitude of human activities initiated without regard to long-ranging effects upon the life-supporting pro...

Endymion
In Greek mythology, a beautiful young shepherd or hunter visited each night by Selene, the Moon goddess. She kissed him as he slept in a cave on Mount Latmos in Caria, sending him into an eternal sleep in which he became ageless. In another tradition, he was the son of Zeus and a nymph, and loved by the goddess Aphrodite. His wish to remain young f...

Ensor, James Sidney, Baron Ensor
Belgian painter and printmaker. In a bold style employing vivid colours, he created a surreal and macabre world inhabited by masked figures and skeletons. Such works as his famous Entry of Christ into Brussels (1888; Musée Royale des Beaux-Arts, Brussels) anticipated expressionism. Baron in 1929. Ensor was the son of...

environment art
Large sculptural or spatial works that create environments which the spectator may enter and become absorbed in. Environments frequently incorporate sensory stimuli, such as sound or movement, to capture the observer's attention. The US artists Jim Dine and Claes Oldenburg were early exponents in the 1960s

Encke's Comet
Comet with the shortest known orbital period, 3.3 years. It is named after German astronomer Johann Encke, who calculated its orbit in 1819 from earlier sightings. The comet was first seen in 1786 by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain. It is the parent body of the Taurid meteor shower and a fragment of it may have hit the Earth in the Tungus...

engine
Click images to enlargeDevice for converting stored energy into useful work or movement. Most engines use a fuel as their energy store. The fuel is burnt to produce heat energy – hence the name `heat engine` – which is then converted into movement. Heat engines can be classified according to the fuel t...

energy of reaction
Energy released or absorbed during a chemical reaction, part of the energy transfer that takes place. In a chemical equation it may be represented by the symbol ΔH. In a chemical reaction, the energy stored in the reacting molecules is rarely the same as that stored in the product molecules. Depending on which is the greater, energy is either ...

enharmonic
In music, a harmony capable of alternative interpretations, used as a link between passages of normally unrelated keys. For example, an enharmonic modulation from C sharp to F major plays on the equivalence, in keyboard terms, of the notes E sharp and F

Engel,
(Johann) German architect. From 1815 he worked in Finland. His great neoclassical achievement is the Senate Square in Helsinki, which is defined by his Senate House (1818–22) and University Building (1828–32), and crowned by the domed Lutheran cathedral (1830–40)

English horn
Alternative name for the cor anglais, a musical instrument of the oboe family

English art
Painting and sculpture in England from the 10th century. (For English art before the 10th century, see Celtic art and Anglo-Saxon art.) The strong tradition of manuscript illumination was continued from earlier centuries. Portrait painting flourished from the late 15th century (initially led by artists from Germany and the Low Countries) throug...

endoplasmic reticulum
A membranous system of tubes, channels, and flattened sacs that form compartments within eukaryotic cells. It stores and transports proteins within cells and also carries various enzymes needed for the synthesis of fats. The ribosomes, or the organelles that carry out protein synthesis, are sometimes...

environmentalism
Theory emphasizing the primary influence of the environment on the development of groups or individuals. It stresses the importance of the physical, biological, psychological, or cultural environment as a factor influencing the structure or behaviour of animals, including humans. In politics this has given rise in many countries to Green parties, w...

enabling act
Legislative enactment enabling or empowering a person or corporation to take certain actions. Perhaps the best known example of an enabling law was that passed in Germany in March 1933 by the Reichstag and Reichsrat. It granted Hitler's cabinet dictatorial powers until April 1937, and effectively terminated parliamentary government in Germany u...

enthalpy
Alternative term for energy of reaction, the heat energy associated with a chemical change at constant pressure. Along with entropy, enthalpy is one of the key parameters of thermodynamics. It is abbreviated as H and can be expressed as H=U+pV where U is the internal energy of a system, p is the pressure, and V the volume. As most chemical ...

encore
In music, an unprogrammed extra item, usually short and well known, played at the end of a concert to please an enthusiastic audience