capacitance the amount of electric charge a capacitor can store.
capacitor a device that stores an electric charge.
cathode-ray tube a type of vacuum tube in which an electron beam is focused electrostatically or elec- tromagnetically onto a sensitized screen, forming a picture, as in a television set.
chip an integrated circuit.
circuit a closed pathway through which electricity can flow.
conductor any element through which electricity can freely flow.
current electricity; a flow of electrons through a conductive medium.
diode a device that permits electrons to pass in only one direction.
doping adding an impurity, such as phosphorus, to semiconducting silicon, to alter its conducting properties.
electrode any of the elements in a transistor that emits or controls the movement of electrons.
electron a subatomic particle with a negative charge.
farad a unit of capacitance.
germanium a semiconducting material used in making electronic components.
ground a large, conducting body, such as the earth, to which an electrical circuit is connected to prevent cables from picking up noise or emitting radio frequency interference.
henry the unit of inductance in which the variation of current at 1 ampere per second induces an electromotive force of 1 volt.
hole an area where no electron is present on the crystal of a P-type semiconductor; it acts as a positive charge.
impedance a measure of the opposition to the flow of current in an alternating-current circuit.
inductance the measure of a magnetic field generated by current passing through an inductor.
inductor a wire coil that stores energy in the form of a magnetic field.
insulator any material through which electricity cannot flow. Opposite of a conductor.
integrated circuit a conglomeration of transistors and other electronic components on a silicon wafer.
junction on a transistor or a diode, the area where opposite types of semiconductor elements meet.
LED an acronym for light-emitting diode, as used in lighted calculator displays.
MEMS microelectromechanical system; microscopic gears, springs, mirrors, sensors, or other devices mounted on chips only millimeters wide. MEMS are used to sense motion, light, temperature, chemicals, and so on in everything from toys to pacemakers.
N-type a region of a semiconductor that has been treated (doped) with an impurity to create free negative charges.
ohm a measurement of electrical resistance, equal to the resistance of a conductor carrying 1 ampere of current at a potential difference of 1 volt between the terminals.
P-type a region of a semiconductor that has been treated with an impurity to create holes (an absence of electrons), which act as positive charges.
resistance a measure of how difficult it is for electricity to flow through a component, measured in ohms.
resistor a device used to introduce resistance into an electrical circuit.
semiconductor any element that is both a poor conductor and a poor insulator, such as silicon.
series two or more components connected end to end so that the same current flows through each component.
silicon the most widely used semiconductor material; it goes into the manufacture of transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, and other components.
solid-state of electronic components, with no moving parts.
transistor a miniature electronic component that controls and amplifies electric current; it is composed of a layer of semiconducting material sandwiched between two opposing layers of semiconducting material.
vacuum tube a glass tube from which all air has
been removed and containing electrodes between which current may be passed.
volt a unit of electromotive force.
watt a unit of power.
ROBOTICS
(Also see computers)
actuator a servo mechanism.
AGV automated guided vehicle.
algorithm a series of programmable steps used to solve a mathematically based problem.
android a robot having a humanlike form, as distinguished from a boxlike robot or an industrial robot arm.
armed robotic vehicle an unmanned, robotically- controlled vehicle armed with missiles and a gun turret, currently under development with the military abbreviated as ARV.
automation a mechanical system that automatically controls its own tasks.
automaton robot.
bionics artificial organs or other human parts designed to replace real parts.
bugs errors in software.
Cartesian coordinates a system that defines an object's position; that is, an X coordinate (left to right) along one dimension, a Y coordinate (front to back) along another, and a Z coordinate indicating up and down. A robot arm may be capable of moving along these coordinates.
CIAM computerized, integrated, and automated manufacturing.
cybernetics the science of communication and control as they apply to complex machines and living organisms.
cyborg in science fiction, a human equipped with bionic parts.
degrees of freedom the distance or amount a robot arm is capable of moving along any dimension, for example, up, down, left, right, cylindrically.
drive system the power plant and components that enable a robot to move.
droid a robot programmed to cause no harm to humans, a popular device used in science fiction.
end effectors devices or tools, such as drills, saws, screwdrivers, and grippers, attached to the end of a robot arm to perform different tasks.
feedback a robot's ability to sense external stimuli and respond to it.
first-generation robot a deaf, dumb, and blind robot; an early model with no sensory ability.
fixed-stop robot a simple robot in which motion is controlled by a series of mechanical stops.
gripper a hand or manipulator used for grasping; an end effector.
hard automation a low-tech form of automation that can be altered only by shutting down the system and changing its physical components. See soft automation.
humanoid any robot similar to a human in appearance or behavior.
interface a mechanical connection between two components, say a computer and a robot arm.
joystick control a stick moved by an operator to control a robot's motions.
manipulator the arm or hand of an industrial robot.
menu a list of possible motions of a robot, used by an operator in programming tasks.
micromotor a microscopic motor, powered by piezoelectricity, and currently being developed to navigate the human bloodstream to target diseased arteries.
MuLE multifunction utility/logistics and equipment vehicle; currently under development for the military, a robotically-controlled vehicle designed to carry ammunition to troops on the battlefield, to carry out the wounded, and to fire machine guns or antitank weapons.