28-letter words containing o, u, t, r, a, d
- quaternary ammonium compound — any of a class of salts derived from ammonium in which the nitrogen atom is attached to four organic groups, as in benzalkonium chloride; the salts are cationic surface-active compounds used as antiseptics and disinfectants.
- radio frequency interference — (hardware, testing) (RFI) Electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by electrical circuits carrying rapidly changing signals, as a by-product of their normal operation, and which causes unwanted signals (interference or noise) to be induced in other circuits. The most important means of reducing RFI are: use of bypass or "decoupling" capacitors on each active device (connected across the power supply, as close to the device as possible), risetime control of high speed signals using series resistors and VCC filtering. Shielding is usually a last resort after other techniques have failed because of the added expense of RF gaskets and the like. The efficiency of the radiation is dependent on the height above the ground or power plane (at RF one is as good as the other) and the length of the conductor in relationship to the wavelength of the signal component (fundamental, harmonic or transient (overshoot, undershoot or ringing)). At lower frequencies, such as 133 MHz, radiation is almost exclusively via I/O cables; RF noise gets onto the power planes and is coupled to the line drivers via the VCC and ground pins. The Rf is then coupled to the cable through the line driver as common node noise. Since the noise is common mode, shielding has very little effect, even with differential pairs. The RF energy is capacitively coupled from the signal pair to the shield and the shield itself does the radiating. At higher frequencies, usually above 500 Mhz, traces get electrically longer and higher above the plane. Two techniques are used at these frequencies: wave shaping with series resistors and embedding the traces between the two planes. If all these measures still leave too much RFI, sheilding such as RF gaskets and copper tape can be used. Most digital equipment is designed with metal, or coated plastic, cases. Switching power supplies can be a source of RFI, but have become less of a problem as design techniques have improved. Most countries have legal requirements that electronic and electrical hardware must still work correctly when subjected to certain amounts of RFI, and should not emit RFI which could interfere with other equipment (such as radios). See also Electrostatic Discharge, Electromagnetic Compatibility.
- rocky mountain spotted fever — an infectious disease characterized by high fever, pains in joints, bones, and muscles, and a cutaneous eruption, caused by rickettsii and transmitted by ticks: first reported in the Rocky Mountain area, but now more widely distributed.
- roundheaded apple tree borer — apple tree borer (def 2).
- simulation oriented language — (language) (SOL) An ALGOL extension for discrete simulation by Donald Knuth and McNeley.
- smooth endoplasmic reticulum — a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
- software productivity centre — (body) (SPC) A non-profit organisation based in Vancouver, BC, Canada with the mandate to assist software developers to improve their software engineering process.
- standard normal distribution — a normal distribution with mean zero and variance 1, with probability density function [exp(–1⁄2x2)]/√2π
- standard operating procedure — a set of fixed instructions or steps for carrying out usually routine operations. Abbreviation: SOP.
- strictly decreasing function — a function having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than the image of the smaller point.
- sudden infant death syndrome — death from the sudden cessation of breathing (apnea) of a seemingly healthy infant, almost always during sleep, sometimes traceable to a chronic oxygen deficiency. Abbreviation: SIDS.
- super video graphics adapter — Super Video Graphics Array
- super video graphics adaptor — Super Video Graphics Array
- systems administrators guild — (body, job) (SAGE) A special technical group of the USENIX Association.
- the medical research council — a government body that uses public funds to finance research in medicine
- through rose-colored glasses — with optimism, esp. undue optimism
- to have your cake and eat it — If you think that someone wants the benefits of doing two things when it is only reasonable to expect the benefits of doing one, you can say that they want to have their cake and eat it.
- to set/put sb's mind at rest — To put someone's mind at rest or set their mind at rest means to stop them worrying about something.
- to throw caution to the wind — If you throw caution to the wind, you behave in a way that is not considered sensible or careful.
- turn (or put) one's hand to — to undertake; work at
- united states postal service — an independent federal agency created in 1971 to replace the Post Office Department as the division of the federal government responsible for postal services. Abbreviation: USPS.
- with/have sth to your credit — If you already have one or more achievements to your credit, you have achieved them.