23-letter words containing a, r, l, e
- broadcast quality video — (communications, multimedia) Roughly, video with more than 30 frames per second at a resolution of 800 x 640 pixels. The quality of moving pictures and sound is determined by the complete chain from camera to receiver. Relevant factors are the colour temperature of the lighting, the balance of the red, green and blue vision pick-up tubes to produce the correct display colour temperature (which will be different) and the gamma pre-correction to cancel the non-linear characteristic of cathode-ray tubes in television receivers. The resolution of the camera tube and video coding system will determine the maximum number of pixels in the picture. Different colour coding systems have different defects. The NTSC system (National Television Systems Committee) can produce hue errors. The PAL system (Phase Alternation by Line) can produce saturation errors. Television modulation systems are specified by ITU CCIR Report 624. Low-resolution systems have bandwidths of 4.2 MHz with 525 to 625 lines per frame as used in the Americas and Japan. Medium resolution of 5 to 6.5 MHz with 625 lines is used in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia. High-Definition Television (HDTV) will require 8 MHz or more of bandwidth. A medium resolution (5.5 MHz in UK) picture can be represented by 572 lines of 402 pixels. Note the ratio of pixels to lines is not the same as the aspect ratio. A VGA display (480n lines of 640 pixels) could thus display 84% of the height of one picture frame. Most compression techniques reduce quality as they assume a restricted range of detail and motion and discard details to which the human eye is not sensitive. Broadcast quality implies something better than amateur or domestic video and therefore can't be retained on a domestic video recorder. Broadcasts use quadriplex or U-matic recorders. The lowest frame rate used for commercial entertainment is the 24Hz of the 35mm cinema camera. When broadcast on a 50Hz television system, the pictures are screened at 25Hz reducing the running times by 4%. On a 60Hz system every five movie frames are screened as six TV frames, still at the 4% increased rate. The six frames are made by mixing adjacent frames, with some degradation of the picture. A computer system to meet international standard reproduction would at least VGA resolution, an interlaced frame rate of 24Hz and 8 bits to represent the luminance (Y) component. For a component display system using red, green and blue (RGB) electron guns and phosphor dots each will require 7 bits. Transmission and recording is different as various coding schemes need less bits if other representations are used instead of RGB. Broadcasts use YUV and compression can reduce this to about 3.5 bits per pixel without perceptible degradation. High-quality video and sound can be carried on a 34 Mbaud channel after being compressed with ADPCM and variable length coding, potentially in real time.
- calcium channel blocker — any drug that prevents the influx of calcium ions into cardiac and smooth muscle: used to treat high blood pressure and angina
- calorie-controlled diet — a diet that restricts a person to a limited number of calories per day
- camillo benso di cavour — Camillo Benso di [kah-meel-law ben-saw dee] /kɑˈmil lɔ ˈbɛn sɔ di/ (Show IPA), 1810–61, Italian statesman: leader in the unification of Italy.
- castellammare di stabia — a port and resort in SW Italy, in Campania on the Bay of Naples: site of the Roman resort of Stabiae, which was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 ad. Pop: 66 929 (2001)
- catherine of alexandria — Saint, a.d. c310, Christian martyr.
- cauchy integral formula — a theorem that gives an expression in terms of an integral for the value of an analytic function at any point inside a simple closed curve of finite length in a domain.
- cauchy integral theorem — the theorem that the integral of an analytic function about a closed curve of finite length in a finite, simply connected domain is zero.
- cellular neural network — (architecture) (CNN) The CNN Universal Machine is a low cost, low power, extremely high speed supercomputer on a chip. It is at least 1000 times faster than equivalent DSP solutions of many complex image processing tasks. It is a stored program supercomputer where a complex sequence of image processing algorithms is programmed and downloaded into the chip, just like any digital computer. Because the entire computer is integrated into a chip, no signal leaves the chip until the image processing task is completed. Although the CNN universal chip is based on analogue and logic operating principles, it has an on-chip analog-to-digital input-output interface so that at the system design and application perspective, it can be used as a digital component, just like a DSP. In particular, a development system is available for rapid design and prototyping. Moreover, a compiler, an operating system, and a user-friendly CNN high-level language, like the C language, have been developed which makes it easy to implement any image processing algorithm.
- central processing unit — the part of a computer that performs logical and arithmetical operations on the data as specified in the instructions
- characteristic velocity — a measure of the effectiveness with which the combustion in a rocket engine produces high temperature and pressure, equal to the exhaust velocity divided by the thrust coefficient.
- circumstantial evidence — indirect evidence that tends to establish a conclusion by inference
- civil aeronautics board — the former federal agency (1938–85) that regulated airline fares and assigned routes. Abbreviation: CAB, C.A.B.
- client-centered therapy — a nondirective method of psychotherapy in which treatment consists of helping patients to use effectively their own latent resources in solving problems.
- collision damage waiver — a form of optional collision insurance cover for a vehicle that is being rented
- columbus air force base — U.S. Air Force installation in NE Mississippi, NW of Columbus.
- combinatorial chemistry — the use of chemical methods to generate all possible combinations of chemicals
- come hell or high water — If you say that you will do something come hell or high water, you are emphasizing that you are determined to do it, in spite of the difficulties involved.
- commercial exploitation — unethical business practices
- common lisp in parallel — (language, parallel) (CLIP) A version of Common LISP from Allegro for the Sequent Symmetry.
- communist international — Third International.
- communist-international — an international organization (1919–43), founded in Moscow, uniting Communist groups of various countries and advocating the attainment of their ends by violent revolution. Also called Comintern, Communist International. Compare international (def 6).
- community health centre — a medical centre that serves a particular area
- compact disc recordable — (storage) (CD-R) A write-once version of CD-ROM. CD-Rs can hold about 650 megabytes of data. They are very durable and can be read by normal CD-ROM drives, but once data has been written it cannot be altered. Standard prerecorded CDs have their information permanently stamped into an aluminium reflecting layer. CD-R discs have a dye-based recording layer and an additional golden reflecting layer. Digital information is written to the disc by burning (forming) pits in the recording layer in a pattern corresponding to that of a conventional CD. The laser beam heats the substrate and recording layer to approximately 250 C. The recording layer melts and the substrate expands into the space that becomes available. See also CD-RW and DVD-RAM.
- compact disc rewritable — (storage) (CD-RW) A rewritable version of CD-ROM. A CD-RW drive can write about 650 megabytes of data to CD-RW media an unlimited number of times. Most CD-RW drives can also write once to CD-R media. CD-RW media cannot be read by CD-ROM drives built prior to 1997 due to the reduced reflectivity (15% compared to 70%) of CD-RW media. CD-RW drives and media are currently (1999) more expensive than CD-R drives and media. CD-R is sometimes considered a better technology for archival purposes as the data cannot be accidentally modified or tampered with, and encourages better archival practices. Standard prerecorded CDs have their information permanently stamped into an aluminium reflecting layer. CD-WR discs have a phase-change recording layer and an additional silver (aluminium) reflecting layer. A laser beam can melt crystals in the recording layer into a non-crystalline amorphous phase or anneal them slowly at a lower temperature back to the crystalline state. The different reflectance of the areas make them appear as the 'pits' and 'lands' of a standard CD. See also CD-R and DVD-RAM.
- comparative linguistics — the study of the correspondences between languages that have a common origin.
- completely normal space — a normal topological space in which every subspace is normal.
- composite colour signal — a colour television signal in which luminance and two chrominance components are encoded into a single signal
- computer-aided learning — Computer-Aided Instruction
- conditional convergence — the property of an infinite series that converges while the series formed by replacing each term in the given series with its absolute value diverges; the property of an infinite series that converges when the order of the terms is altered. Compare absolute convergence (def 1).
- conjunctive normal form — (logic) (CNF) A logical formula consisting of a conjunction of disjunctions of terms where no disjunction contains a conjunction. Such a formula might also be described as a product of sums. E.g. the CNF of (A and B) or C is (A or C) and (B or C). Contrast Disjunctive Normal Form.
- conservative evaluation — (programming) Under this parallel evaluation strategy, no evaluation is started unless it is known to be needed. The opposite of conservative evaluation is speculative evaluation.
- consolidated deliveries — deliveries of goods to different shops in a common location by a single carrier and in a single vehicle
- cordillera de talamanca — a mountain range running SE from central Costa Rica to W Panama.
- correlation coefficient — a statistic measuring the degree of correlation between two variables as by dividing their covariance by the square root of the product of their variances. The closer the correlation coefficient is to 1 or –1 the greater the correlation; if it is random, the coefficient is zero
- correlative conjunction — either member of a matched pair of words, of which the second is a coordinating conjunction, as either … or, neither … nor, both … and, or not only … but.
- cost-of-living increase — a pay rise that is given because the cost of living has gone up
- criminal justice system — the combination of courts and legal processes that deal with crime
- criminal records bureau — (in England and Wales) a service offering employers and voluntary organizations access to police, health, and education records
- cryptococcal meningitis — a form of meningitis resulting from opportunistic infection by a cryptococcus fungus, occurring in persons who are immunodeficient.
- cyclic redundancy check — (algorithm) (CRC or "cyclic redundancy code") A number derived from, and stored or transmitted with, a block of data in order to detect corruption. By recalculating the CRC and comparing it to the value originally transmitted, the receiver can detect some types of transmission errors. A CRC is more complicated than a checksum. It is calculated using division either using shifts and exclusive ORs or table lookup (modulo 256 or 65536). The CRC is "redundant" in that it adds no information. A single corrupted bit in the data will result in a one bit change in the calculated CRC but multiple corrupted bits may cancel each other out. CRCs treat blocks of input bits as coefficient-sets for polynomials. E.g., binary 10100000 implies the polynomial: 1*x^7 + 0*x^6 + 1*x^5 + 0*x^4 + 0*x^3 + 0*x^2 + 0*x^1 + 0*x^0. This is the "message polynomial". A second polynomial, with constant coefficients, is called the "generator polynomial". This is divided into the message polynomial, giving a quotient and remainder. The coefficients of the remainder form the bits of the final CRC. So, an order-33 generator polynomial is necessary to generate a 32-bit CRC. The exact bit-set used for the generator polynomial will naturally affect the CRC that is computed. Most CRC implementations seem to operate 8 bits at a time by building a table of 256 entries, representing all 256 possible 8-bit byte combinations, and determining the effect that each byte will have. CRCs are then computed using an input byte to select a 16- or 32-bit value from the table. This value is then used to update the CRC.
- cylinder vacuum cleaner — a type of vacuum cleaner in which dirt, dust, etc, is sucked into a hard cylinder rather than a bag
- cylindrical coordinates — three coordinates defining the location of a point in three-dimensional space in terms of its polar coordinates (r, θ) in one plane, usually the (x, y) plane, and its perpendicular distance, z, measured from this plane
- d'arsonval galvanometer — a galvanometer consisting of a large, fixed magnet and a light coil that swings in the magnetic field.
- d'entrecasteaux islands — a group of volcanic islands in the Pacific, off the SE coast of New Guinea: part of Papua New Guinea. Pop: 49 167 (1990 est). Area: 3141 sq km (1213 sq miles)
- dark-field illumination — illumination of the field of a microscope from the side so that the specimen is viewed against a dark background
- data terminal equipment — (communications, hardware) (DTE) A device which acts as the source and/or destination of data and which controls the communication channel. DTE includes terminals, computers, protocol converters, and multiplexors. DTE is usually connected via an EIA-232 serial line to Data Communication Equipment (DCE), typically a modem. It is necessary to distinguish these two types of device because their connectors must be wired differently if a "straight-through" cable (pin 1 to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2 etc.) is to be used. DTE should have a male connector and should transmit on pin three and receive on pin two. It is a curious fact that many modems are actually "DTE" according to the original standard.
- database query language — (database) A language in which users of a database can (interactively) formulate requests and generate reports. The best known is SQL.
- de-compartmentalization — to divide into categories or compartments.
- delayed stress reaction — a post-traumatic stress disorder occurring more than six months after the experience of a traumatic event.