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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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FulaniMember of a West African people from the southern Sahara and Sahel. The Fulani language is divided into four dialects and belongs to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family; it has more than 10 million speakers. Traditionally they are nomadic pastoralists and traders; many are now settled agriculturalists or live in cites. Fu...
futureUndertaking to buy a fixed amount of a commodity or financial asset at a fixed date in the future and at a fixed price. Individuals and organizations use futures to protect themselves – hedging – against potential adverse movements in price. Speculators also trade in futures in an attempt to profit from those movements. Price movements of...
Fuad IKing of Egypt from 1923. Son of the Khedive Ismail, he succeeded his elder brother Hussein Kamel as sultan of Egypt in 1917. Egypt was declared independent in 1922 and the promulgation of the 1923 constitution enabled him to assume the title of king. His pretension to be king of Sudan as well was not realized. Opposed to the constitution, he favour...
FulaWest African empire founded by people of predominantly Fulani extraction. The Fula conquered the Hausa states in the 19th century
fundamental particleAnother term for elementary particle
functional groupIn chemistry, a small number of atoms in an arrangement that determines the chemical properties of the group and of the molecule to which it is attached (for example, the carboxyl group COOH, or the amine group NH
2). Organic compounds can be considered as structural skeletons, with a high carbon content, with functional group...
full scoreAll the lines of music for each instrument playing in a composition. The music is arranged on the page according to the four sections of the orchestra. From top to bottom this is: woodwind, brass, percussion, and strings. Within each section, the instruments are arranged with the highest-sounding instrument at the top to the lowest-soun...
fundamentalIn musical acoustics, the lowest harmonic of a musical tone, corresponding to the audible pitch
furzeAnother name for gorse, a shrub
fundamental forcesSee forces, fundamental
fuel-air explosiveWarhead containing a highly flammable petroleum and oxygen mixture; when released over a target, this mixes with the oxygen in the atmosphere and produces a vapour which, when ignited, causes a blast approximately five times more powerful than conventional high explosives. Fuel-air explosives are also referred to as high-impulse thermob...
fundamental constantPhysical quantity that is constant in all circumstances throughout the whole universe. Examples are the electric charge of an electron, the speed of light, Planck's constant, and the gravitational constant
FujiwaraIn Japanese history, the ruling clan 858–1185. During that period (the latter part of the Heian), the office of emperor became merely ceremonial, with power exercised by chancellors and regents, who were all Fujiwara and whose daughters in every generation married into the imperial family. There was a Fujiwara in Japanese government as recentl...
Fujimori, Alberto(Kenya) Peruvian politician, president 1990–2000. He pursued free-market economic policies that led to economic stability and growth, but a widening gap between rich and poor. In 1992 he sided with the military in a coup to dissolve the Peruvian Congress and to increase his powers, al...
fullereneForm of carbon, discovered in 1985, based on closed cages of carbon atoms. The molecules of the most symmetrical of the fullerenes are called buckminsterfullerenes (or buckyballs). They are perfect spheres made up of 60 carbon atoms linked together in 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons fitted together like those of a spherical football. Other fullerenes ...
fuzzy logicIn mathematics and computing, a form of knowledge representation suitable for notions (such as `hot` or `loud`) that cannot be defined precisely but depend on their context. For example, a jug of water may be described as too hot or too cold, depending on whether it is to be used to wash one's face or to make tea. The centra...
future tenseAny of several verb forms used to talk about the future. Sentence analysis defines: future simple as `I shall`; future continuous as `I shall be`; future perfect as `I shall have`; and future in the past as `I would do`
fusion(music) In music, a combination of styles; the term usually refers to jazz-rock fusion. Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis began to draw on rock music in the late 1960s, and jazz-rock fusion flourished in the 1970s with bands such as Weather Report (formed in 1970 in the USA) and musicians...
Fugard, Athol(Harold Lannigan) South African dramatist, director, and actor. He has written more than 20 plays, many of which deal with the effects of apartheid. Among his most explicitly political plays are a trilogy published as
Statements: Three Plays in 1974. Other plays include ...
function keyKey on a keyboard that, when pressed, performs a designated task, such as ending a computer program or opening a help file
FujiyamaAnother name for Mount Fuji (see Fuji, Mount)
future in the pastIn grammar, the use of a verb to express an action which, at sometime in the past, was then regarded as future. It is used when describing an habitual action, for example, `Each day, he would do his morning exercise`
Fuji-sanJapanese name for Mount Fuji, a volcano on Honshu Island, Japan
funk artStyle of art inspired by popular culture that used an unlikely mixture of materials and techniques, such as painting, sculpture, and found objects. Its name derived from the musical term `funky`, describing the passionate, sensuous, and quirky. It was a popular art form in the 1960s and 1970s, mainly in the USA. Funk artists such as Rober...
fulcrumIn physics, the point of support, or pivot, of a lever
FynIsland forming part of Denmark and lying between the mainland and Zealand; capital Odense; area 2,976 sq km/1,149 sq mi; population (2006 est) 447,000
gabbroClick images to enlargeMafic (consisting primarily of dark-coloured crystals) igneous rock formed deep in the Earth's crust. It contains pyroxene and calcium-rich feldspar, and may contain small amounts of olivine and amphibole. Its coarse crystals of dull minerals give it a speckled appearance. Gabbro is the ...
garlicPerennial Asian plant belonging to the lily family, whose strong-smelling and sharp-tasting bulb, made up of several small segments, or cloves, is used in cooking. The plant has white flowers. It is widely cultivated and has been used successfully as a fungicide in the cereal grass sorghum. I...
gardeniaAny of a group of subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs found in Africa and Asia, belonging to the madder family, with evergreen foliage and flattened rosettes of fragrant waxen-looking flowers, often white in colour. (Genus
Gardenia, family Rubiaceae.)
Ganymede(astronomy) In astronomy, largest moon of the planet Jupiter, orbiting every 7.2 days at a distance of 1.1 million km/700,000 mi. It is the largest moon in the Solar System, 5,260 km/3,270 mi in diameter (larger than the planet Mercury). Its surface is a mixture of extensively cratered...
gasoholMotor fuel that is 90% petrol and 10% ethanol (alcohol). The ethanol is usually obtained by fermentation, followed by distillation, using maize, wheat, potatoes, or sugar cane. It was used in early cars before petrol became economical, and its use was revived during the 1940s war shortage and the energy shortage of the 1970s, for example in...
gasForm of matter, such as air, in which the molecules move randomly in otherwise empty space, filling any size or shape of container into which the gas is put. A sugar-lump sized cube of air at room temperature contains 30 trillion molecules moving at an average speed of 500 metres per second (1,80...
galvanizingProcess for rendering iron rust-proof, by plunging it into molten zinc (the dipping method), or by electroplating it with zinc. The word, derived from the name of the pioneer of electrical studies, Luigi Galvani, originally referred to electrodeposition with any metal
galliumGrey metallic element, atomic number 31, relative atomic mass 69.72. It is liquid at room temperature. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) crystals are used for semiconductors in microelectronics, since electrons travel a thousand times faster through them than through silicon. The element was discovered in 1875 by Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838–1912)
gadoliniumSilvery-white metallic element of the lanthanide series, atomic number 64, relative atomic mass 157.25. It is found in the products of nuclear fission and used in electronic components, alloys, and products needing to withstand high temperatures
Gagarin, Yuri AlexeyevichSoviet cosmonaut who on 12 April 1961 became the first human in space, aboard the spacecraft
Vostok 1 (see
Vostok). He completed one orbit of the Earth, taking 108 minutes from launch to landing. He died in a plane crash while training for the
Soyuz 3<...
gazelle
Any of a number of lightly built, fast-running antelopes found on the open plains of Africa and southern Asia. (Especially species of the genus Gazella.)
gastropod
Any member of a very large group of molluscs (soft-bodied invertebrate animals). Gastropods have a single shell (in a spiral or modified spiral form) and eyes on stalks, and they move on a flattened, muscular foot. They have well-developed heads and rough, scraping tongues called radulae. Some are marine, some freshwater, and others land cr...
gannet
Click images to enlargeAny of three species of North Atlantic seabirds; the largest is Sula bassana. When fully grown, it is white with buff colouring on the head and neck; the beak is long and thick and compressed at the point; the wings are black-tipped with a span of 1.7 m/5.6 ft....
gamete
Cell that functions in sexual reproduction by merging with another gamete to form a zygote. Examples of gametes include sperm and egg cells. In most organisms, the gametes are haploid (they contain half the number of chromosomes of the parent), owing to reduction division or meiosis. In higher organisms, gametes are of two distinct types: large...
Gang of Four
(China) In Chinese history, the chief members of the radical faction that played a key role in directing the Cultural Revolution and tried to seize power after the death of the communist leader Mao Zedong in 1976. It included his widow Jiang Qing; the other members were three young Shangha...
gametophyte
The haploid generation in the life cycle of a plant that produces gametes; see alternation of generations
Galbraith, John Kenneth
Canadian-born US economist. Considered a renegade by many of this peers, he criticized mainstream neo-classical economics, for example in his bestsellers American Capitalism: The Concept of Countervailing Power (1952) and The Affluent Society (1958). ...
game theory
Group of mathematical theories, developed in 1944 by German-born US mathematician Oscar Morgenstern and Hungarian-born US mathematician John Von Neumann, that seeks to abstract from invented game-playing scenarios and their outcome the essence of situations of conflict and/or cooperation in the real political, business, and social w...
Gaye, Marvin
US pop singer and songwriter. His early hits, including `Stubborn Kinda Fellow` (1962), `I Heard It Through the Grapevine` (1968), and `What's Goin' On` (1971), exemplified the Detroit Motown sound. He enjoyed a comeback in the early 1980s, with the hit single `Sexual Healing` (1982). Among his albums...
Garvey, Marcus
(Moziah) Jamaican political thinker and activist, an early advocate of black nationalism. He led a Back to Africa movement for black Americans to establish a black-governed country in Africa. The Jamaican politico-religious movement of Rastafarianism is based largely on his ideas. Garv...
García Márquez, Gabriel
(Gabo) Colombian novelist. His sweeping novel Cien años de soledad/One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) (which tells the story of a family over a period of six generations) is an example of magic realism, a technique used to heighten the intensity of realistic portr...
Gaza Strip
Strip of land on the Mediterranean Sea, 10 km/6 mi wide and 40 km/25 mi long, extending northeast from the Egyptian border; area 363 sq km/140 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,022,200, mainly Palestinians, plus about 6,000 Israeli settlers, most of whom arrived during the 1990s and who occupy a fifth of the territory. The Gaza Str...
Gautier, Théophile
French Romantic poet. His later works emphasized the perfection of form and the polished beauty of language and imagery, for example Emaux et camées/Enamels and Cameos (1852). He was also a novelist (Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835)) and later turned to journalism. His belief in the supreme importance of ...
Gatwick
Site of Gatwick Airport, West Sussex, England, situated 42 km/26 mi south of central London. Designated as London's second airport in 1954, it is now one of the city's three international airport facilities. Nearly 30 million passengers a year pass through its two terminals. A rail connection links Gatwick to Victoria Station, London
Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn
English novelist. Her most popular book, Cranford (1853), is the study of a small, close-knit circle in a small town, modelled on Knutsford, Cheshire, where she was brought up. Her other books, which often deal with social concerns, include Mary Barton (1848), North and South (1855), <...
Garda, Lake
Largest lake in Italy; situated on the border between the regions of Lombardy and Veneto; area 370 sq km/143 sq mi
Ganymede
(mythology) In Greek mythology according to Homer, a youth so beautiful he was taken as cupbearer to Zeus, king of the gods. He was deemed responsible for the annual flooding of the Nile, and was later identified with the constellation Aquarius
Gansu
Province of northwest China, bounded to the north by Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, to the east by Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Shaanxi, to the south by Sichuan, and to the west by Qinghai and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; area 530,000 sq km/205,000 sq mi; population (2000 est) 25,620,000. The main cities are Lanzhou (capital), Y...
Ganges
Click images to enlargeMajor river of India and Bangladesh; length 2,510 km/1,560 mi. It drains a fertile and densely populated basin, approximately a quarter of the total area of India, and is the most sacred river for Hindus. Its chief tributary is the Yamuna (Jumna), length 1,385 km/860 mi, which joins the ...
Ganesh
Hindu god of prophecy, son of Shiva and Parvati; he is represented as elephant-headed and is worshipped as a remover of obstacles. Hindus seek his aid before difficult undertakings, such as an examination or job interview. Ganesh is shown as pot-bellied, partly because he loves sweetmeats; he also sometimes holds sweets in one of hi...
Gandhi, Mahatma
Indian nationalist leader. A pacifist, he led the struggle for Indian independence from the UK by advocating non-violent non-cooperation (satyagraha `truth and firmness`) from 1915. He was imprisoned several times by the British authorities. He was influential in the nationalist Congress Party and in the indepen...
Gandhi, Indira Priyadarshani
Indian politician, prime minister of India 1966–77 and 1980–84, and leader of the Congress Party 1966–77 and subsequently of the Congress (I) party. She was assassinated in 1984 by members of her Sikh bodyguard, resentful of her use of troops to clear malcontents from the Sikh temple a...
Gambetta, Léon Michel
French politician, organizer of resistance during the Franco-Prussian War, and founder in 1871 of the Third Republic. In 1881–82 he was prime minister for a few weeks
Galway
(town) Fishing port and county town of County Galway, Republic of Ireland; 200 km/124 mi west of Dublin; principal city of Connacht province; population (2002) 65,800. It produces textiles and chemicals, and there is salmon and eel fishing; Galway has recently become import...
Gallipoli
(battle site) Port in European Turkey, giving its name to the peninsula (ancient name Chersonesus) on which it stands. In World War I, at the instigation of Winston Churchill, an unsuccessful attempt was made between February 1915 and...
gallon
Imperial liquid or dry measure, equal to 4.546 litres, and subdivided into four quarts or eight pints. The US gallon is equivalent to 3.785 litres
Galla
Member of a Cushitic people inhabiting southern Ethiopia and northwestern Kenya. Galla is a Hamito-Semitic (Afro-Asiatic) language, and is spoken by about 12 million people. Most are sedentary agriculturalists, except for some in the south who are nomadic pastoralists. They originally spread south from the Ethiopian plateau and Ethiopian em...
Galilee, Sea of
Alternative name for Lake Tiberias in northern Israel
Galileo
Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. He developed the astronomical telescope and was the first to see sunspots, the four main satellites of Jupiter, and the appearance of Venus going through phases, thus proving it was orbiting the Sun. Galileo discovered that freely falling bodies, heavy or light, have the same, constant acceleration ...
Galilee
Click images to enlargeRegion of northern Israel (once a Roman province in Palestine) that includes Nazareth and Tiberias, frequently mentioned in the Gospels of the New Testament
Galicia
(central Europe) Region of central Europe, extending from the northern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains to the Romanian border. Once part of the Austrian Empire, it was included in Poland after World War I and divided in 1945 between Poland and the USSR
Galicia
(Spain) Mountainous but fertile autonomous community of northwest Spain, comprising the provinces of La Coruña, Lugo, Orense, and Pontevedra; area 29,434 sq km/11,365 sq mi; population (2001 est) 2,733,000. Industries include fishing (Galicia has the largest fishing fleet in t...
Galen
Greek physician and anatomist whose ideas dominated Western medicine for almost 1,500 years. Central to his thinking were the threefold circulation of the blood and the theory of humours (blood, phlegm, choler/yellow bile, and melancholy/black bile) that contributed to mental and physical state. His On Anatomical Procedures
Gaia
In Greek mythology, the goddess of the Earth. She sprang from primordial Chaos and herself produced Uranus, by whom she was the mother of the Cyclopes and Titans
Gaitskell, Hugh
(Todd Naylor) British Labour Party leader from 1955. In 1950 he became minister of economic affairs, and then chancellor of the Exchequer until October 1951. As party leader, he tried to reconcile internal differences on nationalization and disarmament. Born in London, he was educated at Winch...
Gabriel
In the New Testament, the archangel who foretold the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias and of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. He is also mentioned in the Old Testament in the book of Daniel. In Muslim belief, Gabriel revealed the Koran to Muhammad and escorted him on his Night Journey
Gaborone
Capital of Botswana, mainly an administrative and government-service centre; population (2001 est) 185,900. The city lies at an altitude of 1,000 m/3,300 ft, and is on the Cape–Zimbabwe Railway. Light industries include motor vehicle assembly, textiles, brewing, printing and publishing, and construction. The city developed after 19...
Gay, John
English poet and dramatist. He wrote Trivia (1716), a verse picture of 18th-century London. His The Beggar's Opera (1728), a `Newgate pastoral` using traditional songs and telling of the love of Polly for highwayman Captain Macheath, was an extraordinarily popular success. Its satiric politica...
Gauguin,
(Eugène Henri) French post-Impressionist painter. Going beyond the Impressionists' concern with ever-changing appearances, he developed a heavily symbolic and decorative style characterized by his sensuous use of pure colours. In his search for a more direct and intense experi...
Gaul
The Celtic-speaking peoples who inhabited France and Belgium in Roman times; also their territory. Certain Gauls invaded Italy around 400 BC, sacked Rome 387 BC, and settled between the Alps and the Apennines; this district, known as Cisalpine Gaul, was conquered by Rome in about 225 BC. The Romans annexed southern Gaul, from the Alps t...
gastroenteritis
Inflammation of the stomach and intestines, giving rise to abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea. It may be caused by food or other poisoning, allergy, or infection. Dehydration may be severe and it is a particular risk in infants
Gascony
Ancient province of southwest France. With Guienne it formed the duchy of Aquitaine in the 12th century. Henry II of England gained possession of it through his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, and it was often in English hands until 1451. Thereafter it was ruled by the king of France until it was united with the French royal domain in 160...
Garter, Order of the
Senior British order of knighthood (see knighthood, order of), founded by Edward III in about 1347. Its distinctive badge is a garter of dark-blue velvet, with the motto of the order – Honi soit qui mal y pense (`Shame be to him who thinks evil of it`) – in gold letters. Knights of the Garter write KG afte...
Garibaldi, Giuseppe
Italian soldier who played a central role in the unification of Italy by conquering Sicily and Naples in 1860. From 1834 a member of the nationalist Mazzini's Young Italy society, he was forced into exile until 1848 and again 1849–54. He fought against Austria 1848–49, in 1859, and in 1866, and led two unsuccessful expeditions to libe...
Garfield, James A(bram)
20th president of the USA 1881, a Republican. A compromise candidate for the presidency, he held office for only four months before being assassinated in a Washington, DC, railway station by a disappointed office-seeker. His short tenure was marked primarily by struggles within the Republican Par...
garden city
In the UK, a town built in a rural area and designed to combine town and country advantages, with its own industries, controlled developments, private and public gardens, and cultural centre. The idea was proposed by Ebenezer Howard, who in 1899 founded the Garden City Association, which established the first garden city: Letchworth in Hertford...
gangrene
Death and decay of body tissue (often of a limb) due to bacterial action; the affected part gradually turns black and causes blood poisoning. Gangrene sets in as a result of loss of blood supply to the area. This may be due to disease (diabetes, atherosclerosis), an obstruction of a major blood vessel (as in thrombosis), injury, or frostbite. B...
Gama, Vasco da
Portuguese navigator. He commanded an expedition in 1497 to discover the route to India around the Cape of Good Hope (in modern South Africa). On Christmas Day 1497 he reached land, which he named Natal. He then crossed the Indian Ocean, arriving at Calicut (now Kozhikode in Kerala) in May 1498, and returned to Portugal in September 1499
Galway
(county) Click images to enlargeCounty on the west coast of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Connacht; county town Galway; area 5,940 sq km/2,293 sq mi; population (2002) 209,100. Lead and zinc are found a...
Galsworthy, John
English novelist and dramatist. His work examines the social issues of the Victorian period. He wrote The Forsyte Saga (1906–22) and its sequel, the novels collectively entitled A Modern Comedy (1929). His plays include The Silver Box (1906). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature...
Gallup, George Horace
US journalist and statistician, who founded in 1935 the American Institute of Public Opinion and devised the Gallup Poll, in which public opinion is sampled by questioning a number of representative individuals (see opinion poll)
gallstone
Pebblelike, insoluble accretion formed in the human gall bladder or bile ducts from cholesterol or calcium salts present in bile. Gallstones may be symptomless or they may cause pain, indigestion, or jaundice. They can be dissolved with medication or removed, either by means of an endoscope or, along with the gall bladder, in an operation known as ...
galaxy
Grouping of millions or billions of stars, held together by gravity. There are billions of galaxies in the universe. There are different types, including spiral, barred spiral, and elliptical galaxies. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is about 100,000 light years across (a light year is the distance li...
Gainsborough, Thomas
English landscape and portrait painter. In 1760 he settled in Bath, where his elegant and subtly characterized society portraits brought great success. In 1774 he went to London, becoming one of the original members of the Royal Academy and the principal rival of Joshua Reynolds. He was one of the first British artists to follow the Dutch example i...
Gabo, Naum
Russian-born US abstract sculptor. One of the leading exponents of constructivism, he was one of the first artists to make kinetic sculpture. In later works he often used transparent plastics in works that attempt to define space rather than occupy it, as in Linear Construction (1942; Tate Gallery, London). Gabo and his b...
garnet
Group of silicate minerals with the formula X3Y3(SiO4)3, where X is calcium, magnesium, iron, or manganese, and Y is usually aluminium or sometimes iron or chromium. Garnets are used...
gas engine
Internal-combustion engine in which a gas (coal gas, producer gas, natural gas, or gas from a blast furnace) is used as the fuel. The first practical gas engine was built in 1860 by Jean Etienne Lenoir, and the type was subsequently developed by Nikolaus August Otto, who introduced the four-stroke cycle
Gambia
(river) River in western Africa, 1,000 km/620 mi long, which gives its name to The Gambia. It rises in Guinea and flows west through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean
gauge
Any scientific measuring instrument – for example, a wire gauge or a pressure gauge. The term is also applied to the width of a railway or tramway track
gas turbine
Engine in which burning fuel supplies hot gas to spin a turbine. The most widespread application of gas turbines has been in aviation. All jet engines (see under jet propulsion) are modified gas turbines, and some locomotives and ships also use gas turbines as a power source. They are also used in industry for generating and pumping purposes. In a ...
Gatling, Richard Jordan
US inventor of a rapid-fire gun. Patented in 1862, the Gatling gun had ten barrels arranged as a cylinder rotated by a hand crank. Cartridges from an overhead hopper or drum dropped into the breech mechanism, which loaded, fired, and extracted them at a rate of 320 rounds per minute
Gandhi, Rajiv
Indian politician, prime minister from 1984 (following his mother Indira Gandhi's assassination) to November 1989. As prime minister, he faced growing discontent with his party's elitism and lack of concern for social issues. He was assassinated at an election rally. Elder son of Indira Gandhi and grandson of Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi was born in...
galley
Ship powered by oars, and usually also equipped with sails. Galleys typically had a crew of hundreds of rowers arranged in banks. They were used in warfare in the Mediterranean from antiquity until the 18th century. France maintained a fleet of some 40 galleys, crewed by over 10,000 convicts, until 1748. The maximum speed of a galley is estimated t...
galena
Mineral consisting of lead sulphide, PbS, the chief ore of lead. It is lead-grey in colour, has a high metallic lustre and breaks into cubes because of its perfect cubic cleavage. It may contain up to 1% silver, and so the ore is sometimes mined for both metals. Galena occurs mainly among limestone deposits in Australia, Mexico, Russia, Kaz...
