1GBC
Initialism of one-gigabaud fiber channel.
Electrical engineering
450 terms in this trade.
AAL
Initialism of asynchronous transfer mode adaptation layer; ATM adaptation layer.
abmho
A unit of measurement (10⁹ mhos) in the centimeter-gram-second scale used to measure conductance
AC
Initialism of alternating current (often used to indicate an alternating potential rather than a current).
ACD
Initialism of automatic call distributor.
ACI
Initialism of adjacent channel interference.
ACIR
Initialism of adjacent channel interference ratio.
acquisition time
The amount of time required for a GPS receiver to acquire a satellite signal in order to determine the initial position.
ACR
Initialism of automatic circuit recloser.
ACS
Initialism of adjacent channel selectivity.
ADC
Initialism of analog-to-digital converter.
adder-subtractor
A circuit that is capable of adding or subtracting binary numbers.
Ader receiver
A kind of telephone receiver incorporating a magnetized metal ring.
ADPLL
Initialism of all-digital phase locked loop.
ADSL
Initialism of asymmetric digital subscriber line.
advanced time
The time when the field will advance from the present time t.
all-figure number
A telephone number consisting purely of digits, introduced in the 1960s to replace numbers that began with an alphabetic code for the exchange.
AMEPD
Initialism of active matrix electrophoretic display (EPD).
ANC
Initialism of active noise control or active noise cancellation.
ANI
Initialism of automatic number identification.
anode
An electrode, of a cell or other electrically polarized device, through which a positive current of electricity flows inwards (and thus, electrons flow outwards). It can have either a positive or a negative voltage with respect to cathode of the same polarized device (depending on whether the device is a load or a source, respectively).
arc blast
An explosion produced by the extreme heat of an uncontrolled high-energy electric arc.
arc fault
An undesired and uncontrolled electric arc from one conductor through the air (or other gas) to a conductor at ground potential or a different voltage phase.
arc flash
The extremely intense light and heat produced by a high-energy electric arc.
arc-fault circuit interrupter
A type of circuit breaker that detects signs of potentially-dangerous arcing on downstream wiring and shuts off power to the affected branch circuit to reduce the risk of a fire.
asymmetric digital subscriber line
A communications system characterised by moderately high speeds, different in each direction.
ATM
Initialism of asynchronous transfer mode.
attack time
The time between the instant that a signal at the input of a device or circuit exceeds the activation threshold of the device or circuit and the instant that the device or circuit reacts in a specified manner, or to a specified degree, to the input.
autosyn
A type of synchro, used as part of a system to reproduce angular rotation.
away message
An automated notification sent in response to incoming communications when the recipient is unavailable.
Baby Bell
Any of the Regional Bell Operating Companies resulting from the division of AT&T Corporation into a number of smaller companies in the 1980s as part of an antitrust agreement.
back-to-back connection
The direct connection of the output of one telecommunications device to the input of another.
base station subsystem
that section of a GSM network which is responsible for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from a mobile phone
BBS
Initialism of bulletin board system or bulletin board service.
big ugly dish
A C-band satellite dish used by television receive-only (TVRO) systems, ranging from 4 to 16 feet in diameter.
bit interval
The time required to send one signal bit.
bit stuffing
The insertion of non-information bits (binary digits) into a data stream.
black noise
Technical silence; noise that has a frequency spectrum of predominantly zero power level over all frequencies except for a few narrow bands or spikes.
black spot
A location with poor radio signal reception, e.g. for mobile phones.
black start
The process of restoring an electric power station or part of an electric grid to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network.
blow a fuse
To overload a circuit sufficiently that a fuse protecting it melts away (or informally a circuit breaker trips), stopping current from flowing.
borrowed neutral
A wiring practice where the neutral conductor from one circuit is improperly shared or borrowed by another separate circuit, common in older wiring.
BORSCHT
Acronym of battery feed, overvoltage protection, ringing, signalling, coding, hybrid, test (“the set of functions performed by a subscriber line interface circuit (SLIC) in the line card of a telecommunication system providing plain old telephone service”).
botherance
Distracting chatter on a radio link shared by emergency services, relating to ongoing situations other than what one is dealing with.
break up
Of a conversation, to cease to be understandable because of a bad connection; of a signal, to deteriorate.
broadcast radiation
The accumulation of broadcast and multicast traffic on a computer network.
broadcast storm
Extreme amounts of broadcast traffic over a computer network, typically caused by a loop in the network topology.
BUD
Initialism of big ugly dish.
busy signal
An audible signal to the calling party that indicates failure to complete the requested connection; an engaged tone.
C-bander
A person who uses a C-band television receive-only (TVRO) system for viewing television.
call center
A communications facility where phone calls are handled; especially, a commercial one for customer service, sales and telemarketing.
call delay
The delay that occurs when a call arrives at an automatic switching device and no channel or facility is immediately available to process the call.
call forwarding
A telephony feature which redirects a telephone call to another destination.
call history
An itemised list of the telephone numbers called from a particular account.
call tree
A hierarchical communication structure used to rapidly notify a group of people during emergencies or critical events.
camera roll
The collection of images and videos taken on a smartphone.
catapult effect
The phenomenon where a loose current-carrying wire is catapulted horizontally away in the presence of a magnetic field.
cathode
An electrode, of a cell or other electrically polarized device, through which a positive current of electricity flows outwards (and thus, electrons flow inwards). It can have either a negative or a positive voltage with respect to anode of the same polarized device (depending on whether the device is a load or a source, respectively).
cathode ray
A ray consisting of a stream of electrons in a vacuum tube that are emitted by the cathode and accelerated towards the anode by an electric field.
CBDC
Abbreviation of central bank digital currency.