electronic records: …the challenge by developing specialized electronic-records-management (ERM) tools to sit alongside office systems—and other primary software—and capture not just evidence of business transactions but the associated metadata needed to interpret those transactions (e.g., evidence of who sent what to whom, when). The prize in this branch of systems development is…

role-playing video game, electronic game genre in which players advance through a story quest, and often many side quests, for which their character or party of characters gain experience that improves various attributes and abilities. The genre is almost entirely rooted in TSR, Inc.’s Dungeons &

role-playing video game, electronic game genre in which players advance through a story quest, and often many side quests, for which their character or party of characters gain experience that improves various attributes and abilities. The genre is almost entirely rooted in TSR, Inc.’s Dungeons &

electronic shooter game, electronic game genre in which players control a character or unit that wields weapons to shoot enemies. While shooting games involving “light guns” and photoreceptors were experimented with as early as the 1930s, the birth of this genre of electronic games really began in

music synthesizer, machine that electronically generates and modifies sounds, frequently with the use of a digital computer. Synthesizers are used for the composition of electronic music and in live performance. The intricate apparatus of the sound synthesizer generates wave forms and then subjects

superconductivity: Specific heat and thermal conductivity: The electronic specific heat (Ce) of the electrons is defined as the ratio of that portion of the heat used by the electrons to the rise in temperature of the system. The specific heat of the electrons in a superconductor varies with the absolute temperature (T…

esports, online gaming competitions in which amateur and professional gamers participate individually or on teams through organized leagues, often with monetary prizes on the line. Competitive gaming gained prominence about the cusp of the 21st century and swiftly grew into an organized form of

electronic sports game, electronic game genre that simulates a real or imagined sport. The first commercial electronic sports game, as well as the first commercially successful arcade game, was Pong (1972). Produced by the American company Atari Inc., Pong was a simulation of table tennis

electronic strategy game, electronic game genre that emphasizes strategic or tactical planning, involving the control of multiple units, rather than the quick reflexes typical of electronic shooter games. There are two major types of electronic strategy games: turn-based strategy (TBS) and

electronic configuration, the arrangement of electrons in orbitals around an atomic nucleus. The electronic configuration of an atom in the quantum-mechanical model is stated by listing the occupied orbitals, in order of filling, with the number of electrons in each orbital indicated by

electronic substrate and package ceramics, advanced industrial materials that, owing to their insulating qualities, are useful in the production of electronic components. Modern electronics are based on the integrated circuit, an assembly of millions of interconnected components such as transistors

telephone: Electronic switching: As telephone traffic continued to grow through the years, it was realized that large numbers of common control circuits would be required to switch this traffic and that switches of larger capacity would have to be created to handle it. Plans to provide…

electronics: …effects of electrons and with electronic devices.

television: Electronic systems: The final, insurmountable problems with any form of mechanical scanning were the limited number of scans per second, which produced a flickering image, and the relatively large size of each hole in the disk, which resulted in poor resolution. In 1908 a Scottish…

Nasdaq: …American stock market that handles electronic securities trading around the world. It was developed by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and is monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

electronic vehicle game, electronic game genre in which players control vehicles, typically in races or combat against vehicles controlled by other players or the game itself. Pole Position (1982), created by Namco Limited of Japan and released in the United States by Atari Inc., was the first

voltmeter: The electronic voltmeter uses amplification or rectification (or both) to measure either alternating- or direct-current voltages. The current needed to actuate the meter movement is not taken from the circuit being measured; hence, this type of instrument does not introduce errors of circuit loading.

electronic voting, a form of computer-mediated voting in which voters make their selections with the aid of a computer. The voter usually chooses with the aid of a touch-screen display, although audio interfaces can be made available for voters with visual disabilities. To understand electronic

electronic warfare, any strategic use of the electromagnetic spectrum, or of tactics related to the use of the electromagnetic spectrum, against an enemy in a military conflict. The most commonly practiced types of electronic warfare are jamming, which falls under the category of electronic

electronic waste, various forms of electric and electronic equipment that have ceased to be of value to their users or no longer satisfy their original purpose. Electronic waste (e-waste) products have exhausted their utility value through either redundancy, replacement, or breakage and include

watch: Electric-powered and electronic watches: Electric-powered watches use one of three drive systems: (1) the galvanometer drive, consisting of the conventional balance-hairspring oscillator, kept in motion by the magnetic interaction of a coil and a permanent magnet, (2) the induction drive, in which an electromagnet attracts

electronic work function, energy (or work) required to withdraw an electron completely from a metal surface. This energy is a measure of how tightly a particular metal holds its electrons—that is, of how much lower the electron’s energy is when present within the metal than when completely free.

integrated circuit (IC), an assembly of electronic components, fabricated as a single unit, in which miniaturized active devices (e.g., transistors and diodes) and passive devices (e.g., capacitors and resistors) and their interconnections are built up on a thin substrate of semiconductor material

radar: Antennas: ) This is called a phased-array antenna, the basic principle of which is shown in part C of the figure.

radar: Antennas: ) This is called a phased-array antenna, the basic principle of which is shown in part C of the figure.

electronics, branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour, and effects of electrons and with electronic devices. Electronics encompasses an exceptionally broad range of technology. The term originally was applied to the study of electron behaviour and

electrical and electronics engineering, the branch of engineering concerned with the practical applications of electricity in all its forms, including those of the field of electronics. Electronics engineering is that branch of electrical engineering concerned with the uses of the electromagnetic

military intelligence: Signals: Electronics intelligence (also called ELINT) is technical and intelligence information obtained from foreign electromagnetic emissions that are not radiated by communications equipment or by nuclear detonations and radioactive sources. By analyzing the electronic emissions from a given weapon or electronic system, an intelligence analyst can…

electron volt, unit of energy commonly used in atomic and nuclear physics, equal to the energy gained by an electron (a charged particle carrying unit electronic charge) when the electrical potential at the electron increases by one volt. The electron volt equals 1.602 × 10−12 erg, or 1.602 × 10−19

human ear: Disturbances of the vestibular system: …the temples—a diagnostic process called electronystagmography. An abnormal vestibular apparatus usually yields a reduced response or no response at all.

electrophoresis: …fixed diaphragm—the phenomenon is called electroosmosis.

angiosperm: Process of phloem transport: The electroosmotic hypothesis postulates that solution is moved across all sieve plates (areas at which individual sieve elements end) by an electric potential that is maintained by a circulation of cations (positively charged chemical ions), such as potassium. Transport hypotheses postulating solute movement independent of solvent…

electrophile, in chemistry, an atom or a molecule that in chemical reaction seeks an atom or molecule containing an electron pair available for bonding. Electrophilic substances are Lewis acids (compounds that accept electron pairs), and many of them are Brønsted acids (compounds that donate

organohalogen compound: Halogenation: …iron(III) halide (FeX3), brings about electrophilic aromatic substitution of one of the ring hydrogen atoms by the halogen.

carboxylic acid: Aromatic acids: …other aromatic compounds, also undergo electrophilic substitution reactions. The COOH group is deactivating, meaning electrophilic substitutions take place less readily than with benzene itself (Friedel-Crafts reactions do not occur), and meta-directing, meaning that the incoming entity will enter at a position meta to the COOH group, rather than at an…

electrophile, in chemistry, an atom or a molecule that in chemical reaction seeks an atom or molecule containing an electron pair available for bonding. Electrophilic substances are Lewis acids (compounds that accept electron pairs), and many of them are Brønsted acids (compounds that donate

electrophone, any of a class of musical instruments in which the initial sound either is produced by electronic means or is conventionally produced (as by a vibrating string) and electronically amplified. Electronically amplified conventional instruments include guitars, pianos, and others. Among

electronic carillon, 20th-century musical instrument in which the acoustical tone source—metal tubes, rods, or bars struck by hammers—is picked up electromagnetically or electrostatically and converted into electrical vibrations that are highly amplified and fed into loudspeakers placed in a belfry

electronic organ, keyboard musical instrument in which tone is generated by electronic circuits and radiated by loudspeaker. This instrument, which emerged in the early 20th century, was designed as an economical and compact substitute for the much larger and more complex pipe organ. The electronic

electrophoresis, the movement of electrically charged particles in a fluid under the influence of an electric field. If the liquid rather than the particles is set in motion—e.g., through a fixed diaphragm—the phenomenon is called electroosmosis. Electrophoresis is used to analyze and separate

electric eel, (genus Electrophorus), any of three species of elongated South American knifefishes that produce powerful electric shocks to stun prey, usually other fish. All three species—the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus), Vari’s electric eel (E. varii), and Volta’s electric eel (E.

Alessandro Volta: … led him to improve the electrophorus, a device used to generate static electricity. He discovered and isolated methane gas in 1776. Three years later he was appointed to the chair of physics at the University of Pavia.

electric eel: …three species—the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus), Vari’s electric eel (E. varii), and Volta’s electric eel (E. voltai)—are found in the Amazon River or its tributaries.

electric eel: …electricus), Vari’s electric eel (E. varii), and Volta’s electric eel (E. voltai)—are found in the Amazon River or its tributaries.

electric eel: …and Volta’s electric eel (E. voltai)—are found in the Amazon River or its tributaries.

electrophotography, any of several image-forming processes, principally xerography and the dielectric process, that rely on photoconductive substances whose electrical resistance decreases when light falls on them; it is the basis of the most widely used document-copying machines. In xerography, a

mechanoreception: Slight deformation of any mechanoreceptive nerve cell ending results in electrical changes, called receptor or generator potentials, at the outer surface of the cell, and this in turn induces the appearance of impulses (“spikes”) in the associated nerve fibre. Various laboratory devices are used to record…

bioelectricity: …a flattened cell called an electroplaque. Large numbers of electroplaques are arranged in series and in parallel to build up voltage and current-producing capacity of the electric organ. Fishes deliver a sudden discharge of electricity by timing the nervous impulses that activate individual electroplaques, thereby providing simultaneous action of the…

technology of photography: Electrophotography: In the electroplastic process a transparent thermoplastic serves as the photoconductive layer. After the plastic is charged and exposed, the residual electrostatic charge forms stresses in the thermoplastic. Controlled heating deforms the surface in the image areas into a grain pattern, which is frozen into the plastic…

electroplating, process of coating with metal by means of an electric current. Plating metal may be transferred to conductive surfaces (metals) or to nonconductive surfaces (plastics, wood, leather) after the latter have been rendered conductive by such processes as coating with graphite,

keyboard instrument: Stop and key mechanisms: …action is commonly known as electropneumatic.

electropolishing, electrochemical process of smoothing a metallic surface. The metallic object is made the anode in an electrolytic reaction so controlled that its high spots dissolve, until only a smooth surface remains. Electropolishing is the reverse of the process of

chemical bonding: Electronegativity: , they are electropositive) and occur at the lower left of the periodic table. Such elements are likely to form cations during compound formation. (The effect of electronegativity on the polarity of a bond is discussed below in the section The polarity of molecules.)

electroreception, the ability to detect weak naturally occurring electrostatic fields in the environment. Electroreception is found in a number of vertebrate species, including the members of two distinct lineages of teleosts (a group of ray-finned fishes) and monotremes (egg-laying mammals).

electroreception, the ability to detect weak naturally occurring electrostatic fields in the environment. Electroreception is found in a number of vertebrate species, including the members of two distinct lineages of teleosts (a group of ray-finned fishes) and monotremes (egg-laying mammals).

metallurgy: Extractive metallurgy: …from one electrode of an electrolytic cell and its deposition in a purer form onto the other electrode. Chemical refining involves either the condensation of metal from a vapour or the selective precipitation of metal from an aqueous solution.

human eye: Bleaching of rhodopsin: Thus, the electroretinogram (ERG) is the record of changes in potential between an electrode placed on the surface of the cornea and an electrode placed on another part of the body, caused by illumination of the eye.

electroscope, instrument for detecting the presence of an electric charge or of ionizing radiation, usually consisting of a pair of thin gold leaves suspended from an electrical conductor that leads to the outside of an insulating container. An electric charge brought near the conductor or in

shock therapy, method of treating certain psychiatric disorders through the use of drugs or electric current to induce shock; the therapy derived from the notion (later disproved) that epileptic convulsions and schizophrenic symptoms never occurred together. In 1933 the psychiatrist Manfred Sakel

steel: Electroslag remelting (ESR): In this process, there is a slowly melting consumable electrode and a water-cooled mold for solidification, as in vacuum arc remelting, but the melting is conducted under normal atmosphere and is accomplished by a thick, superheated layer of slag on top of…

John B. Fenn: …the late 1980s he originated electrospray ionization, a technique that involves injecting a solution of the sample into a strong electric field, which disperses it into a fine spray of charged droplets. As each droplet shrinks by evaporation, the electric field on its surface becomes intense enough to toss individual…

electrostatic precipitator, a device that uses an electric charge to remove certain impurities—either solid particles or liquid droplets—from air or other gases in smokestacks and other flues. The precipitator functions by applying energy only to the particulate matter being collected, without

Coulomb’s law, mathematical description of the electric force between charged objects. Formulated by the 18th-century French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, it is analogous to Isaac Newton’s law of gravity. Both gravitational and electric forces decrease with the square of the distance

magnetic dipole, generally a tiny magnet of microscopic to subatomic dimensions, equivalent to a flow of electric charge around a loop. Electrons circulating around atomic nuclei, electrons spinning on their axes, and rotating positively charged atomic nuclei all are magnetic dipoles. The sum of

electric field, an electric property associated with each point in space when charge is present in any form. The magnitude and direction of the electric field are expressed by the value of E, called electric field strength or electric field intensity or simply the electric field. Knowledge of the

Coulomb force, attraction or repulsion of particles or objects because of their electric charge. One of the basic physical forces, the electric force is named for a French physicist, Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who in 1785 published the results of an experimental investigation into the correct

Francis Hauksbee, the Elder: In 1706 he produced an electrostatic generator. His Physico-Mechanical Experiments on Various Subjects appeared in 1709. Elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1705, he contributed numerous papers to the society’s Philosophical Transactions, including an account of a two-cylinder pump that served as a pattern for vacuum pumps and…

electrostatic induction, modification in the distribution of electric charge on one material under the influence of nearby objects that have electric charge. Thus, because of the electric force between charged particles that constitute materials, a negatively charged object brought near an

electromechanical transducer: Electrostatic speakers: Electrostatic loudspeakers make use of a large, thin metal plate between two parallel screens. An amplified audio signal is impressed onto the screens, polarizing the metal sheet, and the resulting electrostatic force creates a motion of the sheet, producing a sound wave. Electrostatic speakers function…

microphone: microphone), in electrostatic capacitance (condenser microphone), in the motion of a coil (dynamic microphone) or conductor (ribbon microphone) in a magnetic field, or in the twisting or bending of a piezoelectric crystal (crystal microphone). In each case, motion of the diaphragm produces a variation in the electric output. By…

electric potential, the amount of work needed to move a unit charge from a reference point to a specific point against an electric field. Typically, the reference point is Earth, although any point beyond the influence of the electric field charge can be used. The diagram shows the forces acting on

electrostatic precipitator, a device that uses an electric charge to remove certain impurities—either solid particles or liquid droplets—from air or other gases in smokestacks and other flues. The precipitator functions by applying energy only to the particulate matter being collected, without

plasma: Determination of plasma variables: With the electrostatic probe, ion densities, electron and ion temperatures, and electrostatic potential differences can be determined. Small search coils and other types of magnetic probes yield values for the magnetic field; and from Maxwell’s electromagnetic equations the current and charge densities and the induced component of…

printing: Toward direct impression: In 1923 an electrostatic onset system drew the ink of a cylindrical typeform to the paper by means of an electrical charge. In 1948 two Americans conceived another type of electrostatic printing in which the coloring agent is not ink carried on a typeform but a powder or…

mineral processing: Electrostatic separation: The electrostatic method separates particles of different electrical charges and, when possible, of different sizes. When particles of different polarity are brought into an electrical field, they follow different motion trajectories and can be caught separately. Electrostatic separation is used in all plants…

electromechanical transducer: Electrostatic speakers: Electrostatic loudspeakers make use of a large, thin metal plate between two parallel screens. An amplified audio signal is impressed onto the screens, polarizing the metal sheet, and the resulting electrostatic force creates a motion of the sheet, producing a sound wave. Electrostatic speakers function…

Coulomb force: …charge is one electrostatic unit, esu, or statcoulomb. In the metre–kilogram–second and the SI systems, the unit of force (newton), the unit of charge (coulomb), and the unit of distance (metre), are all defined independently of Coulomb’s law, so the proportionality factor k is constrained to take a value consistent…

voltmeter: …types of voltmeters include the electrostatic voltmeter, which uses electrostatic forces and, thus, is the only voltmeter to measure voltage directly rather than by the effect of current. The potentiometer operates by comparing the voltage to be measured with known voltage; it is used to measure very low voltages. The…

electrostatics, the study of electromagnetic phenomena that occur when there are no moving charges—i.e., after a static equilibrium has been established. Charges reach their equilibrium positions rapidly, because the electric force is extremely strong. The mathematical methods of electrostatics

electrostriction, property of all electrical nonconductors, or dielectrics, that manifests itself as a relatively slight change of shape, or mechanical deformation, under the application of an electric field. Reversal of the electric field does not reverse the direction of the deformation. The

electronic organ, keyboard musical instrument in which tone is generated by electronic circuits and radiated by loudspeaker. This instrument, which emerged in the early 20th century, was designed as an economical and compact substitute for the much larger and more complex pipe organ. The electronic

tropism: … (response to wound lesion), and galvanotropism, or electrotropism (response to electric current). Most tropic movements are orthotropic; i.e., they are directed toward the source of the stimulus. Plagiotropic movements are oblique to the direction of stimulus. Diatropic movements are at right angles to the direction of stimulus.

electrotyping, electroforming process for making duplicate plates for relief, or letterpress, printing. The process was first announced in 1838 by M.H. von Jacobi, a German working in St. Petersburg, Russia. Thomas Spencer and C.J. Jordan of England and Joseph A. Adams of the United States produced

ionic bond, type of linkage formed from the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions in a chemical compound. Such a bond forms when the valence (outermost) electrons of one atom are transferred permanently to another atom. The atom that loses the electrons becomes a positively

ionic bond, type of linkage formed from the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions in a chemical compound. Such a bond forms when the valence (outermost) electrons of one atom are transferred permanently to another atom. The atom that loses the electrons becomes a positively

ionic compound, any of a large group of chemical compounds consisting of oppositely charged ions, wherein electron transfer, or ionic bonding, holds the atoms together. Ionic compounds usually form when a metal reacts with a nonmetal, where the metallic atoms lose an electron or electrons, becoming

electroweak theory, in physics, the theory that describes both the electromagnetic force and the weak force. Superficially, these forces appear quite different. The weak force acts only across distances smaller than the atomic nucleus, while the electromagnetic force can extend for great distances

electroweak theory, in physics, the theory that describes both the electromagnetic force and the weak force. Superficially, these forces appear quite different. The weak force acts only across distances smaller than the atomic nucleus, while the electromagnetic force can extend for great distances

chemical analysis: Electrogravimetry: This method employs an electric current to deposit a solid on an electrode from a solution. Normally the deposit is a metallic plate that has formed from the corresponding metallic ions in the solution; however, other electrode coatings also can be formed. The use…

electrum, natural or artificial alloy of gold with at least 20 percent silver, which was used to make the first known coins in the Western world. Most natural electrum contains copper, iron, palladium, bismuth, and perhaps other metals. The colour varies from white-gold to brassy, depending on the

Euclid’s fifth proposition in the first book of his Elements (that the base angles in an isosceles triangle are equal) may have been named the Bridge of Asses (Latin: Pons Asinorum) for medieval students who, clearly not destined to cross over into more abstract mathematics, had difficulty

Nathanael Culverwel: Culverwel’s best-known essay, An Elegant and Learned Discourse of the Light of Nature (1652), was intended as the introduction to a larger work in which he hoped to defend reason against its more extreme opponents and faith against rationalist reductionists. Reared in the strict spiritual climate of Calvinism,…

tinamou: Locomotion: The elegant crested tinamou (Eudromia elegans) of the open tableland of Argentina alternates periods of flapping with short glides. When flushed, forest species sometimes collide with branches and tree trunks and may injure themselves. If forced to make several flights in short succession, tinamous soon become…

water shrew: The elegant water shrew (Nectogale elegans) of continental Southeast Asia is the most specialized for aquatic life. Only occasionally emerging from the water, it eats only aquatic insect larvae and nymphs. This species lacks external ears entirely and is blind, its eyes covered by skin. Its…

Lorenzo Valla: The Elegantiae linguae Latinae (“Elegances of the Latin Language”), printed in 1471, was the first textbook of Latin grammar to be written since late antiquity; it became highly popular in grammar schools all over Europe.

Eshu, trickster god of the Yoruba of Nigeria, an essentially protective, benevolent spirit who serves Ifa, the chief god, as a messenger between heaven and earth. Eshu requires constant appeasement in order to carry out his assigned functions of conveying sacrifices and divining the future. One

Giovanni Boccaccio: Early works: …in terza rima; the prose Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta (1343–44); and the poem Il ninfale fiesolano (perhaps 1344–45; “Tale of the Fiesole Nymph”), in ottava rima, on the love of the shepherd Africo for the nymph Mensola.

elegy, meditative lyric poem lamenting the death of a public personage or of a friend or loved one; by extension, any reflective lyric on the broader theme of human mortality. In classical literature an elegy was simply any poem written in the elegiac metre (alternating lines of dactylic hexameter

Phillis Wheatley: …until the publication of “An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of That Celebrated Divine…George Whitefield” (1770), a tribute to George Whitefield, a popular preacher with whom she may have been personally acquainted. The poem is typical of what Wheatley wrote during her life both in its formal reliance on…

elegy, meditative lyric poem lamenting the death of a public personage or of a friend or loved one; by extension, any reflective lyric on the broader theme of human mortality. In classical literature an elegy was simply any poem written in the elegiac metre (alternating lines of dactylic hexameter