‘Science and Technology’ Archives
DVD-ROM
DVD-ROM The DVD (alternatively, Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is similar to a CD, but uses laser light with a shorter wavelength. This means that the size of the pits and lands will be considerably smaller, which in turns means that much more data can be stored on the same size disk. A DVD disk typically stores up to 4.7 GB of [...]
Chipset
Chipset In personal computers a chipset is a group of integrated circuits that together perform a particular function. System purchasers generally think in terms of the processor itself (such as a Pentium III, Pentium IV, or competitive chips from AMD or Cyrix). However they are really buying a system chipset that includes the microprocessor [...]
Conferencing Systems
Conferencing Systems Conferencing systems are online communications facilities that allow users to log in and participate in discussions on a variety of topics. Although this is a rather amorphous category of software, some distinguishing characteristics can be identified. Conferencing is distinguished from chat or instant messaging systems [...]
Computer Literacy
Computer Literacy As computers became integral to business, industry, trades, and professions, educators and parents became increasingly concerned that young people acquire a basic understanding of computers and master the related skills. The term computer literacy suggested that computer skills were now as important as the traditional skills [...]
Principia
Principia Principia is the shortened name of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (‘Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy’), summarizing his researches into physics and astronomy and published in three volumes in 1686–87. Most of the work it describes had been completed years before, and it was the [...]
Beta Testing
Beta Testing Beta Testing, in computer science, the formal process of soliciting feedback on software that is still under development. In a beta test, software is sent to select potential customers and influential end users (known as beta sites), who test its functionality and determine whether any operational or utilization errors (bugs) still [...]
Neo-Darwinism
Neo-Darwinism Charles Darwin knew nothing of the mechanism of heredity when he proposed his theory of evolution, even though this was some forty years after Mendel had initiated the study of genetics through his work on pea heredity. Neo-Darwinism is the assimilation of genetics into Darwinian evolutionary theory; the term is given to the [...]
Green PC
Green PC This is a general term for features that reduce the growing environmental impact of the manufacture or use of computers. This impact has several aspects: energy consumption, resource consumption, e-waste, and pollution and greenhouse emissions. Energy Consumption The greatest part of a typical computer system’s power consumption [...]
Sociology
Sociology Sociology as a field of study focuses on the interactions of individuals, groups and organizations within a social structure. The discipline of sociology has always been shaped by the political and social climate of the times and can be traced back to the works of Karl Marx (1818–83), Emile Durkheim (1858–1917), Max Weber [...]
Magnetic Compass
Magnetic Compass The magnetic compass is an instrument that indicates the whole circle bearing from the magnetic meridian to a particular line of sight. It consists of a needle that aligns itself with the Earth’s magnetic flux, and with some type of index that allows for a numeric value for the calculation of bearing. A compass can be used [...]
