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`
`The A
`Illustrated Dictionary
`of Electronics
`
`_
`
`Eighth Edition
`
`Stan Gibilisco
`
`Editor-in—Chief
`
`McGraw-Hill
`
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`Cataloging-in—P11blication Data is on file with the Library of Congress
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`McGmw—Hill
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`Copyright © 2001 by The McGraW—Hili Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of
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`may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system,
`Without the prior written permission of the publisher.
`'
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`1234567890
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`AGNI/AGM' 0987654321
`
`P/N 0~07'~l37237~7
`
`ISBN 0—07—137286—9
`
`The sponsoring editor for this book was Scott Grille, and the production supervisor was Pamela Pelton. It
`was set in Bookman by Techbooks.
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`Information in this book has been obtained by the publisher
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`publisher nor the authors guarantee the accuracy or complete—
`ness of any information published herein. Neither the publisher
`nor the authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or
`damages arising out of use of this information. This Work is pub-
`lished with the understanding that the publisher and authors
`are supplying information but are not attempting to render pro-
`fessional services in any way, shape or form. If such services are
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`plane. These figures are the circle, the ellipse, the
`parabola, and the hyperbole.
`conjugate For a given complex number A +jB, the
`quantity A — _;'B. When complex conjugates are
`multiplied together, the result is A2 + B”.
`conjugate branches
`In a network, two branches of
`such a nature that a signal in one has no effect on
`the other.
`
`'
`
`conjugate bridge A bridge in which the detector
`and generator occupy positions opposite to those
`in a conventional bridge of the same general type.
`conjugate impedance For a given complex im-
`pedance, R + _jX, where R is the resistive compo-
`nent and jX is the reactive component,
`the
`impedance: R -jX. The resistance is identical: the
`reactance is of equal magnitude. but opposite
`sign (capacitive as opposed to inductive. or vice
`versa).
`conjunction The logical AND operation.
`connect To provide an electrical path between two
`points.
`connection The point at which two conductors are
`physically joined.
`-
`connective An operation symbol written between
`operands.
`-
`connector
`1. A device that provides electrical con-
`nection. 2. A fixture {either male or female) at-
`tached to a cable or chassis for quickly making
`and breaking one or more circuits. 3. A symbol
`that connects points on a flowchart.
`conoscope A device that uses focused polarized
`light to examine crystals (as in checking the opti-
`cal axis of a quartz crystal].
`consequent poles The poles of an equivalent sin~
`gle"magnet that is formed when two magnets are
`aligned with their two identical poles together.
`Thus, when the two north poles are placed to-
`gether, the consequent poles are a south pole at
`each end and a north pole at the center.
`conservation of energy 1. The preservation of
`the potential for work by a given quantity of en-
`ergy—evenfiwhen it undergoes a change in form
`within a system. 2. The law of conservation of
`energy, which states that energy can be neither
`created nor destroyed, but only changed in
`form.
`
`1. The main station or position for the
`console
`control of electronic and/or computer equipment.
`2. The equipment at a fixed location. 3. An equip-
`ment~containing cabinet that stands on the floor.
`4. Equipment permitting communication with a
`computer. Also called dumb terrninal.
`consonance
`1. Harmony between audio tones. 2.
`Acoustical or electrical resonance between bodies
`or circuits that are not physically connected.
`constant
`1. A quantity whose‘ value remains
`fixed, such as the speed of light in a vacuum.
`Compare VARIABLE. 2. The value of a compo~
`nent specified for use in a particular electronic
`circuit. 3. An electronic component, particularly
`a capacitance or inductance. 4. In a computer
`
`conic sections - constant-current source
`
`141
`
`program, data items that remain unchanged for
`each run.
`
`constant-amplitude recording in sound record-
`ing, the technique of holding this maximum am-
`plitude of the signal steady as the frequency
`changes.
`constantan An alloy of copper and nickel used in
`some thermocouples and standard resistors.
`constantan-platinurn thermocouple A thermo-
`couple that uses the junction between constan-
`tan and platinum wires, which is contained in
`thermocouple—type meters.
`constant area As allocated by a computer pro-
`gram, an area of memory that holds constants.
`constant bandwidth In a broadband tuned cir~
`cuit, bandwidth that does not change with fre-
`quency.
`.
`constant current A current that undergoes no
`change in value as it flows through a changing re-
`sistance. Compare CONSTANT VOLTAGE.
`constant-current characteristic A condition in
`which the current through a circuit remains con-
`stant—even if the voltage across the circuit in-
`creases or decreases.
`constant-current curve A graph in which the de-
`pendent variable is an electric current that levels
`off at, or approaches, a specific maidmurn. An ex-
`ample is the collector-current versus collector-
`voltage curve for a bipolar transistor.
`
`Max.
`
`Collector
`
`current
`
`Constant-
`current region
`
`0
`
`Collector voltage
`
`+10 V
`
`constant-current curve
`
`constantwcurrent drive Driving power obtained
`from a constant-current source.
`"
`constant-current modulation See
`“CHOKE-
`COUPLED MODULATION.
`constant-current power supply See CONSTANT-
`CURRENT SOURCE.
`constant—cu1-rent sink See CURRENT SINK.
`
`constant-current source A power supply whose
`current remains steady during variations in
`load resistance. Also called constant-current
`
`supply and current-regulated supply.I,'~_Compare
`CONS'I‘ANT—VOLTAGE SOURCE.