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


field
Enclosed area of land used for farming. Traditionally fields were measured in acres; the current unit of measurement is the hectare (2.47 acres). In Britain, regular field systems were functioning before the Romans' arrival. The open-field system was in use at the time of the Norman Conqu...

filter
(chemistry) In chemistry, a porous substance, such as blotting paper, through which a mixture can be passed to separate out its solid constituents

fixed point
Temperature that can be accurately reproduced and used as the basis of a temperature scale. In the Celsius scale, the fixed points are the temperature of melting ice, defined to be 0°C (32°F), and the temperature of boiling water (at standard atmospheric pressure), defined to be 100°C (212°F)

finsen unit
Unit for measuring the intensity of ultraviolet (UV) light; for instance, ultraviolet light of 2 FUs causes sunburn in 15 minutes

filter
(electronics) In electronics, a circuit that transmits a signal of some frequencies better than others. A low-pass filter transmits signals of low frequency and also direct current; a high-pass filter transmits high-frequency signals; a band-pass filter transmits signal...

field
(physics) In physics, region of space in which an object exerts a force on a separate object because of certain properties they both possess. For example, there is a force of attraction between any two objects that have mass when one is within the gravitational field of the other. Other fields...

Fischer, Bobby
US chess player who was world champion 1972–75. In 1958, after proving himself in international competition, he became the youngest grandmaster in history at the age of 15. He was the author of Games of Chess (1959), and was also celebrated for his unorthodox psychological tactics

fibrin
Insoluble protein involved in blood clotting. When an injury occurs fibrin is deposited around the wound in the form of a mesh, which dries and hardens, so that bleeding stops. Fibrin is developed in the blood from a soluble protein, fibrinogen. The conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin is the final stage in blood clotting. Platelets, a type of cell f...

fibula
Rear lower bone in the hind leg of a vertebrate. It is paired and often fused with a smaller front bone, the tibia

filter
(optics) In optics, a device that absorbs some parts of the visible spectrum and transmits others. A beam of white light can be made into a beam of coloured light by placing a transparent colour filter in the path of the beam. For example, a green filter will absorb or block all colours of the...

filtration
Technique by which suspended solid particles in a fluid are removed by passing the mixture through a filter, usually porous paper, plastic, or cloth. The particles are retained by the filter to form a residue and the fluid passes through to make up the filtrate. For example, soot may be filtered from...

firewood
The principal fuel for some 2 billion people, mainly in the developing world. In principle a renewable energy source, firewood is being cut far faster than the trees can regenerate in many areas of Africa and Asia, leading to deforestation. In Mali, for example, wood provides 97% of total energy consumption, and deforestation is running at an e...

fibre, dietary
Plant material (outer husks and peel) that cannot be digested by human digestive enzymes. It consists largely of cellulose, a carbohydrate found in plant cell walls. Fibre adds bulk to the gut contents because it can absorb water, assisting the muscular contractions that force food along the intestine. A diet low in fibre causes constipation and is...

field
(computing) In computing, a specific item of data. A field is usually part of a record, which in turn is part of a file

field-length check
Validation check in which the characters in an input field are counted to ensure that the correct number of characters have been entered. For example, a six-figure date field may be checked to ensure that it does contain exactly six digits

file access
In computing, the way in which the records in a file are stored, retrieved, or updated by computer. There are four main types of file organization, each of which allows a different form of access to the records: serial file, sequential file, indexed sequential file, and direct-access (or random-access) file

fish farming
Raising fish (including molluscs and crustaceans) under controlled conditions in tanks and ponds, sometimes in offshore pens. It has been practised for centuries in the Far East, where Japan today produces some 100,000 tonnes of fish a year; the USA, Norway, and Canada are also big producers. Fis...

fiscal policy
That part of government policy concerning taxation and other revenues, public spending, and government borrowing (the public sector borrowing requirement)

financial institution
Business organization that has as its core business activity the management of money. Banks, building societies, and insurance and assurance companies are all examples of financial institutions

finance, sources of
Sources from which business organizations obtain money to start up and pay for the business, and for new capital goods. The most important source of finance in the UK is internal finance, the retained profit of companies. Next in importance are bank loans and overdrafts. Hire purchase, leasing, factoring, and mortgages are other ways in which a com...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Chaotic period in Chinese history 907–960 between the Han and Song dynasties, during which regionally based military dictatorships contested for power. The five dynasties, none of which lasted longer than 16 years, were based mainly in northern China and the ten kingdoms in the south

finite
(grammar) In grammar, a verb that has a subject by which it is limited by tense, number, and person; for example is is singular, and worked is past tense. The infinitive forms (to be, to work) and participles and g...

fine arts
Arts judged predominantly in aesthetic rather than functional terms, for example painting, sculpture, and print making. Architecture is also classified as one of the fine arts, though here the functional element is also important. Music and poetry are also sometimes called fine arts. The fine arts are traditionally contrasted with the applied arts

five Ks
Five articles of faith worn by the Khalsa, the community or order of Sikhs, all beginning with the letter `k` in Punjabi. They are kesh (uncut hair), a kirpan (sword), a kara (steel bangle), kachha (under-shorts), and a kangha (comb). The custom of kesh has led to the traditional wearing of turbans for men to keep the hair clean and t...

Fire of London
Fire 2–5 September 1666 that destroyed four-fifths of the City of London. It broke out in a bakery in Pudding Lane and spread as far west as the Temple. It destroyed 87 churches, including St Paul's Cathedral, and 13,200 houses, although fewer than 20 people lost their lives

file extension
In computing, the last three letters of a file name in DOS or Windows, which indicate the type of data the file contains. Extensions in common use include .TXT for `text`, .GIF for `graphics interchange format`, and .EXE for `executable`. In Windows, the operating system may be configured to associate specific file ext...

file format
In computing, specific way data are stored in a file. Most computer programs use proprietary file formats that cannot be read by other programs. As this is inconvenient for users, software publishers have developed filters that convert older file formats into the ones the program in use can read. Often file extensions are used to indicate which pro...

firewall
In computing, security system built to block access to a particular computer or network while still allowing some types of data to flow in and out onto the Internet. The firewall is often the first line of defence against hackers. A firewall allows a company's employees to access sites on the World Wide Web or exchange e-mail while at the s...

Fitzpatrick, Sean
New Zealand rugby union player. By his retirement in 1998, he was the most-capped All Black of all time, and had made more international appearances than any other hooker in the history of the sport. His tally of 12 tries in international rugby was also a record for a hooker. As a member of the New Zealand side that won the inaugural rugby Worl...

Fittipaldi, Emerson
Brazilian racing driver. He won the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship in 1972 and 1974. He raced Indy Cars from 1984, winning the overall CART title in 1989, and the Indianapolis 500 in 1989 and 1993. Career highlights World Drivers' champion 1972, 1974 Total Grand Prix raced 149 Grand Prix wins 14 Total Grand Prix points 281 Indy Car W...

fit
In medicine, popular term for convulsion

FireWire
In computing, Apple's implementation of the IEEE 1394 serial connection system. The term has since been adopted by other computer manufacturers and is commonly used for the connection of digital video cameras to personal computers

fin
In aquatic animals, flattened extension from the body that aids balance and propulsion through the water. In fish they may be paired, such as the pectoral and ventral fins, or singular, such as the caudal and dorsal fins, all being supported by a series of cartilaginous or bony rays. The fins in cetaceans (whales and dolphins) are simple extensions...

firing
In ceramics, the process that `bakes` the pottery clay hard, and fixes colours and glazes to pottery surfaces. The pottery is fired in a kiln, an ovenlike enclosure where the pieces undergo intense heating

figurative art
Another term for representational art, applied to recognizable images from the real world

Firat
Turkish for the Euphrates, a river rising in east Turkey and flowing through Syria and Iraq

Five Moral Precepts
In Buddhism, the rules of behaviour accepted by the Buddhist laity, who vow to refrain from: 1. taking life, 2. stealing, 3. sexual promiscuity, 4. lying, and 5. drinking alcohol (which may lead to lack of control and breaking the other four). On holy days, lay Buddhists may follow the Ten Moral Precepts practised by ordained Buddhists

find and replace
In computing, a function available in most office suite applications. It enables the user to search through the file being edited, finding every occurrence of a word or phrase, and then, if desired, replace it with another set of characters. This function is most often used to alter the misspelling of a word throughout a document. Other uses includ...

finishing
Covering or coating placed over the surface of a material in order to protect it and/or make it look better. Finishes can be temporary or permanent. Temporary finishes have to be redone after a period of time. They include finishes such as oiling and greasing on metals, and waxing and polishing on timbers. Finishes such as staining are semiperm...

filament
(textile) Single long fibre used to produce yarn for different types of fabric. Synthetic fibre is initially produced as single filaments, made when liquid polymer is forced through fine holes in a device called a spinneret. The resulting filaments are hardened, drawn, and twisted to produce a...

fibreboard
Board made from timber fibres. The resin of the timber is sometimes used to bind the fibres together under pressure. Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) has many applications, as it is easily shaped and can have plastic veneer glued to its surface. Another common type of fibreboard is hardboard

fitting
Device used to attach materials together. Permanent fittings include nails and rivets, while fittings that can be removed include screws and nuts and bolts. Hinges are fittings that allow movement at a joint. DIY furniture often includes specialist fittings called knock-down (KD) fittings, which are used to assemble products and hold them in pl...

Fillon, François
French right-of-centre politician, prime minister from 2007. A member of the left wing of the right-of-centre Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), he is a Gaullist who believes in social inclusiveness and consensus. As labour and social affairs minister (2002–04) under Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, during the presiden...

fjord
Narrow sea inlet enclosed by high cliffs. Fjords are found in Norway, New Zealand, Southern Chile, and western parts of Scotland. They are formed when an overdeepened U-shaped glacial valley is drowned by a rise in sea-level. At the mouth of the fjord there is a characteristic lip causing a s...

fluorescence
Short-lived luminescence (a glow not caused by high temperature). Phosphorescence lasts a little longer. Fluorescence is used in strip and other lighting, and was developed rapidly during World War II because it was a more efficient means of illumination than the incandescent lamp. Recently, small bulb-size fluorescence lamps have reached t...

fluorite
Glassy, brittle halide mineral, calcium fluoride CaF2, forming cubes and octahedra; colourless when pure, otherwise violet, blue, yellow, brown, or green. Fluorite is used as a flux in iron and steel making; colourless fluorite is used in the manufacture of microscope lenses. It is also used for the glaze on pottery, ...

flint
Compact, hard, brittle mineral (a variety of chert), brown, black, or grey in colour, found as nodules in limestone or shale deposits. It consists of cryptocrystalline (grains too small to be visible even under a light microscope) silica, SiO2, principally in the crystalline form of quartz. Implements fashioned from flint wer...

fleabane
Any of several plants of two related groups, belonging to the daisy family. Common fleabane (P. dysenterica) has golden-yellow flower heads and grows in wet and marshy places throughout Europe. (Genera Pulicaria and Erigeron, family Compositae.)

flax
Any of a group of plants including the cultivated L. usitatissimum; linen is produced from the fibre in its stems. The seeds yield linseed oil, used in paints and varnishes. The plant, of almost worldwide distribution, has a stem up to 60 cm/24 in high, small leaves, and bright blue flowers. (Genus Linum...

flame tree
Any of various trees with brilliant red flowers, including the smooth-stemmed semi-deciduous Brachychiton acerifolium with scarlet bell-shaped flowers, native to Australia, but spread throughout the tropics

fluorocarbon
Compound formed by replacing the hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon with fluorine. Fluorocarbons are used as inert coatings, refrigerants, synthetic resins, and as propellants in aerosols. There is concern that the release of fluorocarbons – particularly those containing chlorine (chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs) – depletes the ozone layer, allowi...

fluorine
Pale yellow, gaseous, non-metallic element, atomic number 9, relative atomic mass 19. It is the first member of the halogen group of elements, and is pungent, poisonous, and highly reactive, uniting directly with nearly all the elements. It occurs naturally as the minerals fluorite (CaF2) and cryolite (Na3
flying lizard
Another name for flying dragon

flying squirrel
Any of 43 known species of squirrel, not closely related to the true squirrels. They are characterized by a membrane along the side of the body from forelimb to hindlimb (in some species running to neck and tail) which allows them to glide through the air. Several genera of flying squirrel are found ...

flying fox
Another name for the fruit bat, a fruit-eating bat of the suborder Megachiroptera

flying fish
Any marine bony fishes of the family Exocoetidae, order Beloniformes, best represented in tropical waters. They have winglike pectoral fins that can be spread to glide over the water

flying dragon
Lizard Draco volans of the family Agamidae. It lives in southeast Asia, and can glide on flaps of skin spread and supported by its ribs. This small (7.5 cm/3 in head and body) arboreal lizard can glide between trees for 6 m/20 ft or more

fly
Any insect of the order Diptera. A fly has a single pair of wings, antennae, and compound eyes; the hind wings have become modified into knoblike projections (halteres) used to maintain equilibrium in flight. There are over 90,000 species. The mouthparts project from the head as a proboscis used for sucking fluids, modified in some species, suc...

flounder
Small flatfish Platychthys flesus of the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, although it sometimes lives in estuaries. It is dull in colour and grows to 50 cm/1.6 ft

fluke
Any of various parasitic flatworms of the classes Monogenea and Digenea, that as adults live in and destroy the livers of sheep, cattle, horses, dogs, and humans. Monogenetic flukes can complete their life cycle in one host; digenetic flukes require two or more hosts, for example a snail and a human being, to complete their life cycle. Fluke...

flea
Wingless insect of the order Siphonaptera, with blood-sucking mouthparts. Fleas are parasitic on warm-blooded animals. Some fleas can jump 130 times their own height. Species include the human flea Pulex irritans; the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopsis, the transmitter of plague and typhus; and (foste...

flatfish
Bony fishes of the order Pleuronectiformes, having a characteristically flat, asymmetrical body with both eyes (in adults) on the upper side. Species include flounders, turbots, halibuts, plaice, and the European soles

flamingo
Long-legged and long-necked wading bird, family Phoenicopteridae, of the stork order Ciconiiformes. Largest of the family is the greater or roseate flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber, found in Africa, the Caribbean, and South America, with delicate pink plumage and 1.25 m/4 ...

flatworm
Click images to enlargeInvertebrate of the phylum Platyhelminthes. Some are free-living, but many are parasitic (for example, tapeworms and flukes). The body is simple and bilaterally symmetrical, with one opening to the intestine. Many are hermaphroditic (with both male and female sex organs) and practise self-fe...

flowering plant
Term generally used for angiosperms, which bear flowers with various parts, including sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sometimes the term is used more broadly, to include both angiosperms and gymnosperms, in which case the cones of conifers and cycads are referred to as `flowers`. Usua...

flower
Click images to enlargeReproductive unit of an angiosperm (flowering plant), typically consisting of four whorls of modified leaves: sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. These are borne on a central axis or receptacle. The many variations in size, colour, number, and arrangement of parts are closely related to the me...

floret
Small flower, usually making up part of a larger, composite flower head. There are often two different types present on one flower head: disc florets in the central area, and ray florets around the edge which usually have a single petal known as the ligule. In the common daisy, for example, the disc florets are yellow, while the ligules are whi...

flow chart
Click images to enlargeDiagram, often used in computing, to show the possible paths that data can take through a system or program. A system flow chart, or data flow chart, is used to describe the flow of data through a complete data-processing system. Different graphic symbols represent the clerical operations involv...

flugelhorn
Valved brass instrument of the bugle type. It is made in three sizes: soprano, alto, and tenor, and is used in military and brass bands. In Britain only the alto instrument, in B flat, is used, normally only in brass bands. The alto flugelhorn has a similar range to the cornet but is of mellower tone

Florida Keys
Series of small coral islands that curve over 240 km/150 mi southwest from the southern tip of Florida, USA, between the Straits of Florida and Florida Bay. The most important are Key Largo (the largest settlement) and Key West (which has a US naval and air station); economically they depend on fishing and tourism. A causeway links the keys...

Florey, Howard Walter
Australian pathologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Ernst Chain for the isolation of penicillin and its development as an antibiotic drug. His research into lysozyme, an antibacterial enzyme discovered by Alexander Fleming (who shared the prize), led him to study penicillin (another of Fleming's discov...

Flora
In Roman mythology, the goddess of flowers, youth, and spring. Her festival, the Floralia, instituted in 238 BC, was initially celebrated at irregular intervals but became annual from 173 BC. It lasted from 28 April to 3 May and included licentious staged exhibitions. The goddess was originally the Greek maiden Chloris, who was caught by the amorou...

Flood, the
In the Old Testament, the Koran, and The Epic of Gilgamesh (an ancient Sumerian legend), a deluge lasting 40 days and nights, a disaster alleged to have obliterated all humanity except a chosen few (in the Old Testament, the survivors were the family of Noah and the pairs of animals sheltered on his ark). The story may represent ...

Flodden, Battle of
Defeat of the Scots by the English under the Earl of Surrey on 9 September 1513, on a site 5 km/3 mi southeast of Coldstream, in Northumberland, England. James IV of Scotland, declaring himself the active ally of France, crossed the border to England with an invading army of 30,000. The Scots were defeated, suffering heavy losses, and James him...

Fleming, Alexander
Scottish bacteriologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1945 for his discovery of the bactericidal effect of penicillin in 1928. In 1922 he had discovered lysozyme, an antibacterial enzyme present in saliva, nasal secretions, and tears. While studying this, he found an unusual mould growing on a culture dish, which he is...

flute
Side-blown woodwind instrument with a long history, capable of intricate melodies and a wide range of expression. The player holds the flute horizontally, and to the right, and blows across an end hole. The air current is split by the opposite edge of the hole, causing the air column inside the i...

Florence
(Italy) Click images to enlargeCapital of Tuscany, northern Italy, on the River Arno, 88 km/55 mi from the river's mouth; population (1992) 397,400. It has printing, engineering, and optical industries; many crafts, including le...

Flinders, Matthew
English navigator who explored the Australian coasts 1795–99 and 1801–03. Named after him are Flinders Island, northeast of Tasmania, Australia; the Flinders Range in southern Australia; and Flinders River in Queensland, Australia

Flintshire
Unitary authority in north Wales. A former county, it was part of Clwyd between 1974 and 1996. Area 437 sq km/169 sq mi Towns Mold (administrative headquarters), Flint, Holywell, Buckley, Connah's Quay Physical bounded by the Irish Sea in the north, the Dee estuary in the east, and the Clwydi...

flight
Click images to enlargeMethod of transport in which aircraft carry people and goods through the air. People first took to the air in balloons in 1783 and began powered flight in 1852 in airships, but the history of flying, both for civilian and military use, is dominated by the aeroplane. The earliest planes were designed...

Fletcher, John
English dramatist. He is remarkable for his range, which included tragicomedy and pastoral dramas, in addition to comedy and tragedy. He collaborated with Francis Beaumont in some 12 plays, producing, most notably, the tragicomedy Philaster (1610) and The Maid's Tragedy (c. 1611). He is a...

Flemish art
Painting and sculpture of Flanders (now divided between Belgium, the Netherlands, and France). A distinctive Flemish style emerged in the early 15th century based on manuscript illumination and the art of the Burgundian court. It is distinguished by keen observation, minute attention to detail, bright colours, and superb technique – oil painti...

Flemish
Member of the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken in north Belgium and the Nord département of France. It is closely related to Dutch. In opposition to the introduction of French as the official language in the Flemish provinces of Belgium after 1830, a strong Flemish movement arose. Althoug...

Fleming, Ian Lancaster
English author. His suspense novels feature the ruthless, laconic James Bond, British Secret Service agent 007. The first novel in the series was Casino Royale (1953); others include From Russia with Love (1957), Goldfinger (1959), and <...

Flaxman, John
English neoclassical sculptor and illustrator. From 1775 he worked for the Wedgwood pottery as a designer, and later became one of Europe's leading exponents of the neoclassical style. His public works include the monuments to Nelson and Joshua Reynolds in St Paul's Cathedral, London; and to Robert Burns in Westminster Abbey. In 1810 he...

Flanders
Region of the Low Countries that in the 8th and 9th centuries extended from Calais to the Schelde and is now covered by the Belgian provinces of Oost Vlaanderen and West Vlaanderen (East and West Flanders), the French département of Nord, and part of the Dutch province of Zeel...

Flaubert, Gustave
French writer. One of the major novelists of the 19th century, he was the author of Madame Bovary (1857), Salammbô (1862), L'Education sentimentale/Sentimental Education (1869), and La Tentation de Saint Antoine/The Temptation of St Anthony (1874). Flaubert...

Flamsteed, John
English astronomer. He began systematic observations of the positions of the stars, Moon, and planets at the Royal Observatory he founded at Greenwich, London, in 1676. His observations were published in Historia Coelestis Britannica (1725). As the first Astronomer Royal of England, Flamsteed determined the latitude of Greenwich,...

fleur-de-lis
Heraldic device in the form of a stylized iris flower, borne on coats of arms since the 12th century and adopted by the French royal house of Bourbon

fluoride
Negative ion formed when hydrogen fluoride dissolves in water; compound formed between fluorine and another element. The ending `ide` in halides (such as fluorides, chlorides, and iodides) indicates that the halogen acts as the more electronegative partner (see electronegativity). As fluorine is the most electronegative element of all...

flywheel
Heavy wheel in an engine that helps keep it running and smooths its motion. The crankshaft in a petrol engine has a flywheel at one end, which keeps the crankshaft turning in between the intermittent power strokes of the pistons. It also comes into contact with the clutch, serving as the connection between the engine and the car's transmission ...

Fleming's rules
Memory aids used to recall the relative directions of the magnetic field, current, and motion in an electric generator or motor, using one's fingers. The three directions are represented by the thumb (for motion), forefinger (for f...

Flemish Brabant
Province of Belgium, part of the Dutch-speaking Flemish community and region, bounded by Antwerp to the north, Limbourg and Liège to the east, Walloon Brabant and Hainaut to the south, and East Flanders to the west; area 2,106 sq km/813 sq mi; population (2003 est) 1,025,800. Contained within its borders is the Brussels-Cap...

fluid
Any substance, either liquid or gas, in which the molecules are relatively mobile and can `flow`. A fluid can be `pushed` by applying a force that is transmitted to different parts of the fluid. The pressure of a fluid increases with the depth of the fluid. In water, an upward force called the upthrust is the liquid pressure tha...

floppy disk
In computing, a storage device consisting of a light, flexible disk enclosed in a cardboard or plastic jacket. The disk is placed in a disk drive, where it rotates at high speed. Data are recorded magnetically on one or both surfaces. Floppy disks were invented by IBM in 1971 as a means of loading programs into a computer. They were originally 20 c...

flat
In music, a sign that tells a player to lower the pitch of a note by one semitone. It can also describe the inaccurate intonation of players when they are playing lower in pitch than they should be

Flaherty, Robert
(Joseph) US film director. He was one of the pioneers of documentary film-making. He exerted great influence through his pioneer documentary of Inuit life, Nanook of the North (1922), a critical and commercial success. Later films include Moana (1926),...

Flynn, Errol
Australian-born US film actor. He portrayed swashbuckling heroes in such films as Captain Blood (1935), Robin Hood (1938), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1938), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), and The M...

flood plain
Area of periodic flooding along the course of a river valley. When river discharge exceeds the capacity of the channel, water rises over the channel banks and floods the surrounding low-lying lands. As water spills out of the channel some alluvium (silty material) will be deposited on the banks t...

Florida
Southeasternmost state of the USA, bordered to the north by Georgia and by Alabama; area 139,670 sq km/53,927 sq mi; population (2006) 18,089,900; capital Tallahassee. Florida is a low-lying tropical peninsula, and has large areas of swampland, such as the Everglades, as well as l...