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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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gemMineral valuable by virtue of its durability (hardness), rarity, and beauty, cut and polished for ornamental use, or engraved. Of 120 minerals known to have been used as gemstones, only about 25 are in common use in jewellery today; of these, the diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire are classified as precious, and all the others semi-precio...
Geiger counterAny of a number of devices used for detecting nuclear radiation and measuring its intensity by counting the number of ionizing particles produced (see radioactivity). It detects the momentary current that passes between electrodes (anode and cathode) in a suitable gas (such as argon) when radiation c...
geophysicsBranch of earth science using physics (for instance gravity, seismicity, and magnetism) to study the Earth's surface, interior, and atmosphere. Geophysics includes several sub-fields such as seismology, paleomagnetism, and remote sensing
German silverSilvery alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc. It is widely used for cheap jewellery and the base metal for silver plating. The letters EPNS on silverware stand for electroplated nickel silver
generatorMachine that produces electrical energy from mechanical energy, as opposed to an electric motor, which does the opposite. A simple generator (known as a dynamo in the UK) consists of a wire-wound coil (armature) that is rotated between the poles of a permanent magnet. As the coil rotates it cuts across the magnetic field lines and a current is ...
geological timeTime scale embracing the history of the Earth from its physical origin to the present day. Geological time is traditionally divided into eons (Archaean or Archaeozoic, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic in ascending chronological order), which in turn are subdivided into eras, periods, epochs, ages, and finally chrons. The terms eon, era, period, epoch, ...
Genet, JeanFrench dramatist, novelist, and poet. His turbulent life and early years spent in prison are reflected in his drama, characterized by ritual, role-play, and illusion, in which his characters come to act out their bizarre and violent fantasies. His plays include
Les Bonnes/The Maids (1947),
Le Balcon/The Balco...
Geddes, Patrick
Scottish town planner. He established the importance of surveys, research work, and properly planned `diagnoses before treatment`. His major work is City Development (1904). His protégé was Lewis Mumford
Geneva Protocol
International agreement of 1925 designed to prohibit the use of poisonous gases, chemical weapons, and bacteriological methods of warfare. It came into force in 1928 but was not ratified by the USA until 1974
geodesy
Science of measuring and mapping Earth's surface for making maps and correlating geological, gravitational, and magnetic measurements. Geodetic surveys, formerly carried out by means of various measuring techniques on the surface, are now commonly made by using radio signals and laser beams from orbiting satellites
George I
(of Great Britain and Ireland) King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714. He was the son of the first elector of Hannover, Ernest Augustus (1629–1698), and his wife Sophia, and a great-grandson of James I. He succeeded to the electorate in 1698, and became king on the death of Queen...
George II
(of Great Britain and Ireland) King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1727, when he succeeded his father, George I. He was accused, with his minister John Carteret, of favouring Hannover at the expense of Britain's interest in the War of the Austrian Succession; his victory at Dettinge...
George III
Click images to enlargeKing of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760, when he succeeded his grandfather George II. His rule was marked by intransigence resulting in the loss of the American colonies, for which he shared the blame with his chief minister Lord North, and the emancipation of Catholics in England. Possibly suff...
George V
King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1910, when he succeeded his father Edward VII. He was the second son, and became heir in 1892 on the death of his elder brother Albert, Duke of Clarence. In 1893, he married Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (Queen Mary), formerly engaged to his brother. During World War I he made several visits to the f...
George II
(of Greece) King of Greece 1922–23 and 1935–47. He became king on the expulsion of his father Constantine I in 1922 but was himself overthrown in 1923. Restored by the military in 1935, he set up a dictatorship under Joannis Metaxas, and went into exile during the German occupation 1...
George IV
King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1820, when he succeeded his father George III, for whom he had been regent during the king's period of insanity 1811–20. In 1785 he secretly married a Catholic widow, Maria Fitzherbert, but in 1795 also married Princess Caroline of Brunswick, in return ...
George VI
King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1936, when he succeeded after the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, who had succeeded their father George V. Created Duke of York in 1920, he married in 1923 Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900–2002), and their children are Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. During World War II, he visited ...
Gestalt
Concept of a unified whole that is greater than, or different from, the sum of its parts; that is, a complete structure whose nature is not explained simply by analysing its constituent elements. A chair, for example, will generally be recognized as a chair despite great variations between individual chairs in such attributes as size, shape, an...
gender
In grammar, one of the categories into which nouns are divided in many languages, such as masculine, feminine, and neuter (as in Latin, German, and Russian), masculine and feminine (as in French, Italian, and Spanish), or animate and inanimate (as in some American Indian languages)
genetic fingerprinting
Technique developed in the UK by Professor Alec Jeffreys (1950– ), and now allowed as a means of legal identification. It determines the pattern of certain parts of the genetic material DNA that is unique to each individual. Like conventional fingerprinting, it can accurately distinguish humans from one another, with the exception of iden...
Gerald of Wales
English name of Giraldus Cambrensis, medieval Welsh bishop and historian
gelatin
Water-soluble protein prepared from boiled hide and bone, used in cookery to set jellies, and in glues and photographic emulsions
geriatrics
Medical speciality concerned with diseases and problems of the elderly
Georgian
(period) Period of English architecture, furniture making, and decorative art between 1714 and 1830. The architecture is mainly classical in style, although external details and interiors were often rich in rococo carving. Furniture w...
gentry
The lesser nobility, particularly in England and Wales, not entitled to sit in the House of Lords. By the later Middle Ages, it included knights, esquires, and gentlemen, and after the 17th century, baronets
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Welsh writer and chronicler. While a canon at Oxford, he wrote Historia Regum Britanniae/History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1139), which included accounts of the semi-legendary kings Lear, Cymbeline, and Arthur. He is also thought by some to be the author of Vita Merlini, a life of t...
genocide
Deliberate and systematic destruction of a national, racial, religious, or ethnic group defined by the exterminators as undesirable. The term is commonly applied to the policies of the Nazis during World War II (what they called the `final solution` – the extermination of all `undesirables` in occupied Europe, particularly ...
German
The native people or inhabitants of Germany, or a person of German descent, as well as their culture and language. In eastern Germany the Sorbs (or Wends) comprise a minority population who speak a Slavic language. The Austrians and Swiss Germans speak German, although they are ethnically distinct. German-speaking minorities are found in France...
Gentile da Fabriano
Italian painter of frescoes and altarpieces who worked in a Gothic style uninfluenced by the fashions of contemporary Florence. Gentile was active in Venice, Florence, Siena, Orvieto, and Rome and collaborated with the artists Pisanello and Jacopo Bellini. His Adoration of the Magi (1423; Uffizi, Florence), painted for the ch...
geometric mean
In mathematics, the nth root of the product of n positive numbers. The geometric mean m of two numbers p and q is such that m = √(p × q). For example, the geometric mean of 2 and 8 is...
gear
Click images to enlargeToothed wheel that transmits the turning movement of one shaft to another shaft. Gear wheels may be used in pairs, or in threes if both shafts are to turn in the same direction. The gear ratio – the ratio of the number of teeth on the two wheels – determines the torque ratio, the turning f...
gene bank
Collection of seeds or other forms of genetic material, such as tubers, spores, bacterial or yeast cultures, live animals and plants, frozen sperm and eggs, or frozen embryos. These are stored for possible future use in agriculture, plant and animal breeding, or in medicine, genetic engineering, or the restocking of wild habitats where species have...
Geiger, Hans
(Wilhelm) German physicist who produced the Geiger counter. He spent the period 1906–12 in Manchester, England, working with Ernest Rutherford on radioactivity. In 1908 they designed an instrument to detect and count alpha particles, positively charged ionizing particles produced by radio...
gel
Solid produced by the formation of a three-dimensional cage structure, commonly of linked large-molecular-mass polymers, in which a liquid is trapped. It is a form of colloid. A gel may be a jellylike mass (pectin, gelatin) or have a more rigid structure (silica gel)
George I
(of Greece) King of Greece 1863–1913. The son of Christian IX of Denmark, he was nominated to the Greek throne and, in spite of early unpopularity, became a highly successful constitutional monarch. He was assassinated by a Greek, Schinas, at Salonika
geode
In geology, a subspherical cavity into which crystals have grown from the outer wall into the centre. Geodes often contain very well-formed crystals of quartz (including amethyst), calcite, or other minerals
Gershwin, George
US composer. His musical comedies, mostly to lyrics by his brother Ira Gershwin (1896–1983), were among Broadway's most successful in the 1920s and 1930s, including Strike up the Band (1927), Funny Face (1927), and Girl Crazy (1930). He also wrote concert works including the tone poe...
geochronology
Branch of geology that deals with the dating of rocks, minerals, and fossils in order to create an accurate and precise geological history of the Earth. The geological time scale is a result of these studies. It puts stratigraphic units in chronological order and assigns actual dates, in millions of years, to those units
geomorphology
Click images to enlargeBranch of geology developed in the late 19th century, dealing with the morphology, or form, of the Earth's surface; nowadays it is also considered to be an integral part of physical geography. Geomorphological studies investigate the nature and origin of surface landforms, such as mountains,...
Germany, East
Country 1949–90, formed from the Soviet zone of occupation in the partition of Germany following World War II. East Germany became a sovereign state in 1954, and was reunified with West Germany in October 1990. For history after 1949, see Germany
Germany, West
Country 1949–90, formed from the British, US, and French occupation zones in the partition of Germany following World War II; reunified with East Germany in October 1990. For history after 1949, see Germany
Germany
Click images to enlargeCountry in central Europe, bounded north by the North and Baltic Seas and Denmark, east by Poland and the Czech Republic, south by Austria and Switzerland, and west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Government With reunification in 1990 the German government remained almost identi...
general strike
Refusal to work by employees in several key industries, with the intention of paralysing the economic life of a country. In British history, the General Strike was a nationwide strike called by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on 3 May 1926 in support of striking miners. Elsewhere, the general strike w...
German Spring Offensive
Germany's final offensive on the Western Front during World War I. By early 1918, German forces outnumbered the Allies on the Western Front. Germany staged three separate offensives, which culminated in the Second Battle of the Marne, fought between 15 July and 6 August. It marked the turning point of World War I. After winning the battle the A...
gene amplification
Technique by which selected DNA from a single cell can be duplicated indefinitely until there is a sufficient amount to analyse by conventional genetic techniques. Gene amplification uses a procedure called the polymerase chain reaction. The sample of DNA is mixed with a solution of enzymes called polymerases, which enable it to replicate, and with...
Georgian
(anthology) The people of a number of related groups which make up the largest ethnic group in Georgia and the surrounding area. There are 3–4 million speakers of Georgian, a member of the South Caucasian language family, and the official language of Georgia
gearing
Relationship between a company's funding that bears a fixed-interest charge, such as debentures, and preference shares to its equity or ordinary share capital. When the proportion of long-term fixed-interest capital is greater, the company is said to be highly geared. Highly-geared companies are considered speculative investment...
Geingob, Hage Gottfried
Namibian politician, the first prime minister of an independent Namibia 1990–2002. He spent the period from 1963 outside Namibia, in Botswana and the USA, as a representative of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and working for the UN. In 1989 he returned to Namibia as the head of SWAPO's election campaign and played ...
Getz, Stan
US saxophonist. He was one of the foremost tenor-sax players of his generation. In the 1950s he was a major exponent of the cool jazz style, as on the album West Coast Jazz (1955). In the 1960s he turned to the Latin American bossa nova sound, which gave him a hit single, `The Girl from Ipanema` (1964). Later he exp...
geomagnetic reversal
Another term for polar reversal
General Motors
US vehicle manufacturer. Founded in 1908 in Flint, Michigan, from a number of small carmakers, it grew into the USA's largest company. A multinational company; it has headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, and its brands include Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Corvette, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, and Saturn in the USA, Opel in Germany, and Vauxhall in t...
gene therapy
Medical technique for curing or alleviating inherited diseases or defects that are due to a gene malfunction, certain infections, and some types of cancer, in which a replacement of the faulty DNA is introduced into the body. The biggest challenge is to ensure that the replacement gene can enter the cells and insert itself into the genome without d...
Georgia
Click images to enlargeCountry in the Caucasus of southeastern Europe, bounded north by Russia, east by Azerbaijan, south by Armenia and Turkey, and west by the Black Sea. Government Under the 1995 constitution, as amended in 2003, Georgia has a limited presidential political system. The executive state president is direc...
German shepherd
Breed of dog. It is about 63 cm/25 in tall and has a wolflike appearance, a thick coat with many varieties of colouring, and a distinctive way of moving. German shepherds are used as police dogs because of their courage and intelligence. They were introduced from Germany into Britain and the USA after World War I
Gelon
Tyrant of Syracuse. Gelon took power in Gela, then capital of Sicily, in 491, and then transferred the capital to Syracuse. He refused to help the mainland Greeks against Xerxes in 480 BC, but later the same year defeated the Carthaginians under Hamilcar Barca at Himera, on the north coast of Sicily, leaving Syracuse as the leading city in the west...
geodesic dome
Hemispherical dome, a type of space-frame, whose surface is formed out of short rods arranged in triangles. The rods lie on geodesics (the shortest lines joining two points on a curved surface). This type of dome allows large spaces to be enclosed using the minimum of materials, and was patented ...
gender differences
Differences between the sexes that are not anatomical or biological but are due to the influences of culture and society. There are few, if any, differences in behaviour between baby boys and girls in the first weeks of life, but in nearly all societies and classes of society, the way a baby is regarded and handled by its parents and others varies ...
genetic screening
In medicine, the determination of the genetic make-up of an individual to determine if he or she is at risk of developing a hereditary disease later in life. Genetic screening can also be used to determine if an individual is a carrier for a particular genetic disease and, hence, can pass the disease on to his or her children. Genetic counselli...
gemsbok
Species of antelope that inhabits the desert regions of southern Africa. It stands about 1.2 m/4 ft in height, and its general colour is greyish. Its horns are just over 1 m/3.3 ft long. Classification The gemsbok Oryx gazella is in family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla
Gebrselassie, Haile
Ethiopian long-distance runner. Between 1994 and 1998 he broke the 5,000-metre world record four times and the 10,000-metre record three times, and has broken more than 25 world records in indoor and outdoor competition. From 1993 to 2000 he won every Olympic and world title in the 10,000...
genetically modified foods
Foods produced using genetic engineering technology. Individual genes can be copied or transferred from one living organism to another, to incorporate particular characteristics into the organism or remove undesirable characteristics. The technology, developed in the 1980s, may be used, for example, to produce crops with higher yields, improved tas...
Germany, Cold War
Click images to enlargeFollowing World War II, disagreement among the wartime Allies over the future of Germany became one of the first flashpoints of the Cold War. On the one hand the USSR sought to weaken Germany in order to avoid future war, and promote communism; on the other, the Western Allies (the USA, UK, and ...
Geber
Latin name of Arabic alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan
generic structure
In grammar, the way in which a text is constructed to suit its purpose. For example, an informal letter is different in construction to that of an official report
Gent
Flemish name for Ghent, a port city in northwest Belgium
Genève
French name for Geneva, a city in Switzerland, and for the canton of the same name
gesture
Motion of the face, body, or limbs, used to express emotion or illustrate or enforce something that is said. It is also the art of using such movements for rhetorical or dramatic purposes
gestural painting
Alternative term for action painting
Geiger–Müller tube
Device for detecting alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma radiation, by measuring the electric current produced when these forms of radiation ionize a gas. The tube comprises an outer metal cylinder forming a negative terminal (cathode) with a thin membrane of plastic or mica covering the front of the tube. The inside of the tube is filled wi...
German unification
The events leading up to the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. In 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars, the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) created a German confederation of 39 states in the geographical area known as Germany (formerly a region divided into hundreds of German states). Its organization gave Austria and Prussia, the la...
Ghirlandaio, Domenico
Italian fresco painter. He was the head of a large and prosperous workshop in Florence. His fresco cycle (1486–90) in Sta Maria Novella, Florence, includes portraits of many Florentines and much contemporary domestic detail. He also worked in Pisa, Rome, and San Gimignano, and painted many portraits. He was styled Il Ghirlandaio or Grillandaio...
Ghiberti, Lorenzo
Italian sculptor and goldsmith. In 1402 he won the commission for a pair of gilded bronze doors for the baptistry of Florence's cathedral. He produced a second pair 1425–52, the Gates of Paradise, one of the masterpieces of the early Italian Renaissance. They show a sophisticated use of composition and perspective, and t...
ghetto
Any deprived area occupied by a minority group, whether voluntarily or not. Originally a ghetto was the area of a town where Jews were compelled to live, decreed by a law enforced by papal bull 1555. The term came into use 1516 when the Jews of Venice were expelled to an island within the city which ...
Ghent
Port city and capital of East Flanders province, northwest Belgium, situated at the junction of the rivers Lys and Schelde, 55 km/34 mi northwest of Brussels; population (2003 est) 226,900. Industries include textiles, chemicals, electronics, metallurgy, and motor-vehicle manufacturing. It is also the trade centre of a flower- and b...
Ghats, Eastern and Western
Twin mountain ranges in south India, east and west of the central plateau; a few peaks reach about 3,000 m/9,800 ft. The name is a European misnomer, the Indian word ghat meaning `pass`, not `mountain`. They are connected by the Nilgiri Hills. The Western Ghats extend from the Tapti valley as a steep&#...
Ghana, ancient
Trading empire that flourished in northwestern Africa between the 5th and 13th centuries. Founded by the Soninke people, the Ghana Empire was based, like the Mali Empire that superseded it, on the Saharan gold trade. Trade consisted mainly of the exchange of gold from inland deposits for salt from the coast. At its peak in the 11th century, it occu...
Ghana
Click images to enlargeCountry in West Africa, bounded north by Burkina Faso, east by Togo, south by the Gulf of Guinea, and west by Côte d'Ivoire. Government Ghana has a limited presidential political system. The 1992 constitution provides for a multiparty system, with a directly elected president as head of sta...
Ghibelline
In medieval Germany and Italy, a supporter of the emperor and member of a rival party to the Guelphs (see Guelph and Ghibelline)
ghat
In Hinduism, broad steps leading down to one of the sacred rivers. Some of these, known as `burning ghats`, are used for cremation
Ghost Dance
American Indian religious revivalist movement that spread through the Plains Indians and other ethnic groups in the 1890s. In January 1889, a Paiute Indian named Wovoka had a vision that the old ways would be restored, the buffalo herds would return, white people would disappear, and the Indians would be reunited with friends and relatives in the g...
Gilbert and George
English painters and performance artists. They became known in the 1960s for their presentations of themselves as works of art, or `living sculptures`, holding poses for many hours. They also produce large emblematic photoworks. Their use of both erotic and ambiguous political material has made them controversial. They received the Turner...
ginger
Southeast Asian reedlike perennial plant; the hot-tasting spicy underground root is used as a food flavouring and in preserves. (Zingiber officinale, family Zingiberaceae.)
ginseng
Plant with a thick forked aromatic root used in alternative medicine as a tonic. (Panax ginseng, family Araliaceae.) Asian ginseng Panax ginseng was placed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix 2, which controls, but does...
Giotto
Space probe built by the European Space Agency to study Halley's Comet. Launched by an Ariane rocket in July 1985, Giotto passed within 600 km/375 mi of the comet's nucleus on 13 March 1986. On 2 July 1990, it flew within 23,000 km/14,000 mi of the Earth, which diverted its path to encounter another comet, Grigg-Skjellerup, on 1...
Giacometti, Alberto
Swiss sculptor and painter. In the 1940s, he developed a highly original style, creating thin, rough-textured single figures in bronze. These emaciated figures have often been seen as an expression of the acute sense of alienation of people in the modern world. Man Pointing (1947) is one of many examples in the Tate Gallery, ...
giraffe
Click images to enlargeWorld's tallest mammal. It stands over 5.5 m/18 ft tall, the neck accounting for nearly half this amount. The giraffe has two to four small, skin-covered, hornlike structures on its head and a long, tufted tail. The fur has a mottled appearance and is reddish brown and cream. Giraffes ar...
gila monster
Lizard native to the southwestern USA and Mexico. It is one of the only two existing venomous lizards, the other being the Mexican beaded lizard of the same genus. It has poison glands in its lower jaw, but its bite is not usually fatal to humans. (Species Heloderma suspectum.)
gibbon
Any of a group of several small southern Asian apes. The common or lar gibbon (H. lar) is about 60 cm/2 ft tall, with a body that is hairy except for the buttocks, which distinguishes it from other types of apes. Gibbons have long arms and no tail. They spend most of their time...
gizzard
Muscular grinding organ of the digestive tract, below the crop of birds, earthworms, and some insects, and forming part of the stomach. The gizzard of birds is lined with a hardened horny layer of the protein keratin, preventing damage to the muscle layer during the grinding process. Most birds swallow sharp grit which aids maceration of food in th...
gill
(biology) In biology, the main respiratory organ of most fishes and immature amphibians, and of many aquatic invertebrates. In all types, water passes over the gills, and oxygen diffuses across the gill membranes into the circulatory system, while carbon dioxide passes from the system out into...
gilt-edged securities
Stocks and shares issued and guaranteed by the British government to raise funds and traded on the Stock Exchange. A relatively risk-free investment, gilts bear fixed interest and are usually redeemable on a specified date. The term is now used generally to describe securities of the highest value. According to the redemption date, gilts are de...
Giffard, Henri
French inventor of the first passenger-carrying powered and steerable airship, called a dirigible, built in 1852. The hydrogen-filled airship was 43 m/144 ft long, had a 2,200-W/3-hp steam engine that drove a three-bladed propeller, and was steered using a saillike rudder. It flew at an average speed of 5 kph/3 mph
Gironde
Navigable estuary 75 km/46 mi long on the southwest coast of France between Bordeaux and the sea, formed by the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. It flows into the Bay of Biscay between the Médoc and Côtes vineyards. The estuary has sand banks and strong tides, but is used by ocean-going vessels. The passenger port is Le ...
Girl Guides
Female equivalent of the Scout organization, founded in 1910 in the UK by Robert Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes. There are three branches: Brownie Guides (age 7–11); Guides (10–16); Ranger Guides (14–20); they are led by Guiders (adult leaders). The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (as they are ...
Giorgione, da Castelfranco
Italian Renaissance painter. Active in Venice, he created the Renaissance poetic landscape, with its rich colours, soft forms, and gentle sense of intimacy. An example is his Sleeping Venus (about 1510; Gemäldegalerie, Dresden), a work that was probably completed by Titian. In its symmetrical composition and crisp style,...
Ginsberg,
(Irwin) US poet and political activist. His reputation as a visionary, overtly political poet was established by Howl (1956), which expressed and shaped the spirit of the Beat Generation and criticized the materiali...
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Former British colony in the Pacific, known since independence (1978) as the countries of Tuvalu and Kiribati
Gilbert, Humphrey
English soldier and navigator who claimed Newfoundland (landing at St John's) for Elizabeth I in 1583. He died when his ship sank on the return voyage. He was knighted in 1570
Gielgud,
(Arthur) English actor and director. One of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his time, he made his debut at the Old Vic in 1921 and played Hamlet in 1929. His stage appearances ranged from roles in works by Anton Chekhov and Richard Sheridan to those of Alan Bennett, Harold Pinter, and Dav...
Gibson Desert
Desert in central Western Australia, between the Great Sandy Desert to the north and the Great Victoria Desert in the south; area 220,000 sq km/85,000 sq mi
