Glossary
Terms starting with A
493 definitions · page 7 of 9.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- The ability of a camcorder to make critical decisions in processing the video signal. It will make judgements based on light level to control the iris shutter speed, exposure control and white balance.
- Artificial Intelligence Picture Control
- Continuously monitors signal conditions to maintain a high degree of contrast in the picture. It looks at all areas of the picture at the same time. If a particular area is too light, AI Picture Control can darken that area without affecting the black level…
- artificial ventilation
- the process of supporting breathing by manual or mechanical means when normal breathing is inefficient or has stopped.
- As Is
- Selling the property without warranties as to the condition and/or the fitness of the property for a particular use. Buyers are solely responsible for examining and judging the property for their own protection. Otherwise known as "As Is, Where Is" and "In…
- Asafoetida
- An extremely pungent spice extracted from a plant of the giant fennel family, asafoetida is frequently used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking. In fact, asafoetida's strong, garlicky, dung-like smell is quite off-putting (the Germans call it Teufelsdreck…
- ASCII
- (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). A standard for coding text files. Every character has an associated number and any text can be represented by a sequence of numbers.
- ascospore
- A sexual spore from certain fungus species in which spores are found in a sac called an ascus. Haploid spores found in the asci of Ascomycete fungi.
- ascus
- In fungi, a sac that encloses a tetrad or an octad of ascospores. The sac in Ascomycete fungi that holds the ascospores.
- ASH
- Non-organic, non-flammable substance left over after combustible material has been completely burned.
- ASHRAE
- Acronym for American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air- Conditioning Engineers.
- Asn
- Asparagine (an amino acid).
- ASP
- Active Server Pages. ASP is Microsoft's server-side scripting technology. An Active Server Page has an .asp extension and it mixes HTML and scripting code that can be written in VBScript or JScript. ASP is distributed with Microsoft's IIS web server, so most…
- Asp
- Aspartate (an amino acid).
- Aspect Adjustment Capability
- A feature of various 'image' devices including camcorder, digital still and DVD. It lets you choose from display modes, depending on the format of the received signal and your viewing preference. The Zoom Mode allows you to enlarge the picture uniformly to…
- Aspect Ratio
- Refers to the shape of picture appearing on TV screen. The ratio compares the width of the picture to the height. Standard TV broadcasts and cablecasts use a 4:3 aspect ratio, while most movies are shot in an approximately 16:9 ratio.
- Aspic
- The 1970s and glorious Fanny Cradock with her over-the-top creations always come to mind when aspic is mentioned. It's the transparent jelly in which cold fish, poultry and meat are sometimes served. It's used as a garnish to glaze and protect fish and other…
- ASSEMBLAGE
- The combining of two or more adjoining lots into one larger tract to increase their total value.
- ASSESSMENT
- The imposition of a tax, charge or levy, usually according to established rates.
- Assessments
- Tests used by employers in order to gain a better insight into a potential employee's personality and career potential. While these tests can help the job seeker discover more about himself and unleash career ideas, they should never be relied upon as the…
- ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES
- Bonds that represent pools of loans of similar types, duration and interest rates. Almost any loan with regular repayments of principal and interest can be securitized, from auto loans and equipment leases to credit card receivables and mortgages.
- ASSIGNED RISK PLANS
- Facilities through which drivers can obtain auto insurance if they are unable to buy it in the regular or voluntary market. These are the most well-known type of residual auto insurance market, which exist in every state. In an assigned risk plan, all…
- ASSIGNMENT
- The transfer in writing of interest in a bond, mortgage, lease or other instrument.
- assignment test
- A test that determines whether a locus is on a specific human chromosome by observation of the concordance of the locus and the specific chromosome in a panel of human-mouse hybrid cell lines containing only one or a few of the normal set (22 autosomes, X…
- assisted reproductive technology (ART)
- medical procedures, such as intrauterine insemination, that are performed to help infertile couples conceive.
- assistive devices
- technical tools and devices such as alphabet boards, text telephones, or text-to-speech conversion software used to assist people with physical or emotional disorders in performing certain actions, tasks, and activities.
- ASSOCIATED GAS
- Natural gas that can be developed for commercial use, and which is found in contact with oil in naturally occurring underground formations.
- assortative mating
- The mating of individuals with similar phenotypes.
- ASSUMPTION OF MORTGAGE
- Acquiring title to property on which there is an existing mortgage and agreeing to be personally liable for the terms and conditions of the mortgage, including payments.
- asterism
- a small grouping of stars in the night sky
- asteroid
- a small, rocky body that orbits a star
- asteroid belt
- the zone in which most asteroids orbit the sun, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
- astrometry
- the study of the positions and motions of celestial objects
- astronomical unit
- the average distance from Earth to the sun, equal to about 93,000,000 miles (150,000,000 km)
- astronomical units
- a measurement used by astronomers within the solar system; one astronomical unit (AU) is the average distance between Earth and the sun (about 93,000,000 miles or 150,000,000 kilometers)
- astronomy
- the branch of science concerned with objects beyond Earth
- astrophotography
- the photography of astronomical objects
- Astrophysics
- The physics of astronomical objects such as stars and galaxies.
- astrophysics
- the branch of astronomy that deals with the physical characteristics of celestial objects
- Asylee
- A person who cannot return to his home country because of a well-founded fear of persecution. An application for asylum is made in the United States to the DHS.
- Asynchronous
- 1 : not synchronous; not occurring or existing at the same time or having the same period or phase. 2 : of, used in, or being digital communication (as between computers) in which there is no timing requirement for transmission and in which the start of each…
- Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
- A set of network protocols designed for multimedia transmission. Data is partitioned into cells (53 bytes each) and passed along a virtual circuit. ATM allows for building very high speed networks.
- ataxia-telangiectasia
- A disease (loss of muscle control, and reddening of the skin) in human beings caused by a defect in DNA repair mechanisms induced by ionising radiation (X-rays, beta and alpha particles, gamma rays).
- ATGAS
- Synthetic gas produced by dissolving coal in a bath of molten iron. The process was developed by Applied Technology, Inc. Synthetic gas may be used as a substitute for natural gas in industrial and home uses.
- atherectomy
- a non-surgical procedure that involves removing plaque from the walls of arteries with a rotating blade.
- atherosclerosis
- a type of arteriosclerosis caused by a build-up of plaque in the inner lining of an artery.
- atmosphere
- a gaseous envelope surrounding a moon, planet, or star
- ATOM
- The smallest unit of an element consisting of a dense positively charged nucleus (of protons and neutrons) orbited by negatively charged electrons.
- atom
- the fundamental unit of matter; can consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons
- ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
- The independent civilian agency of the federal government with statutory responsibility to supervise and promote use of nuclear energy. Functions were taken over in 1974 by the Energy Research and Development Administration (now part of the U.S. Department…
- ATOMIC NUCLEUS
- The positively charged core of an atom.
- atomic nucleus
- the central region of an atom; can consist of protons and neutrons
- atonality; atonal
- The absence of any sense of tonality.
- atonic colon (Also called lazy colon.)
- lack of normal muscle tone or strength in the colon.
- ATP
- (adenosine triphosphate) The energy molecule of cells, synthesized mainly in mitochondria and chloroplasts; energy from the breakdown of ATP drives many important reactions in the cell.
- ATRAC™ Compression (SONY)
- ATRAC technology compresses audio files by removing all of the sounds the human ear cannot hear, thereby maintaining audio quality and providing more music storage capability. At the highest compression level, a person could record up to 5 hours of music on…
- atrioventricular (AV) node
- a cluster of cells between the atria and ventricles that regulate the electrical current.
- atrioventricular block
- an interruption of the electrical signal between the atria and the ventricles.
- atrophic gastritis
- chronic inflammation of the stomach that causes the breakdown of the mucous membranes of the stomach.
- atrophy
- a continuous decline of a body part or tissue, usually a muscle, following a period of disuse or immobility.
- attached X
- A pair of Drosophila X chromosomes joined at one end and inherited as a single unit.