| Design Fundamentals | Rev 12 Sep 99 |

Glossary

achromatic

adj. 1. Designating color perceived to have zero saturation and therefore no hue, such as neutral grays, white, or black. 2. Refracting light without spectral color separation. 3. Biology Difficult to stain with standard dyes. Used in reference to cells or tissues. 4. Music Having only the diatonic tones of the scale.

adjacency

The affect of surrounding areas on color vision. A given color area generally looks brighter if the surroundings are dark, and a given color looks more saturated if surrounded by complementary color. This contrast enhancement relates to the general importance of borders in perception. It is primarily the color area borders that signal the mind.

amplitude

n. 1. Greatness of size; magnitude. 2. Fullness; copiousness. 3. Breadth or range, as of intelligence. 4. Astronomy The angular distance along the horizon from true east or west to the intersection of the vertical circle of a celestial body with the horizon. 5. Physics The maximum absolute value of a periodically varying quantity. 6. Mathematics a. The maximum absolute value of a periodic curve measured along its vertical axis. b. The angle made with the positive horizontal axis by the vector representation of a complex number. 7. Electronics The maximum absolute value reached by a voltage or current waveform.

anomaly

n. 1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule. 2. One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify. 3. Astronomy The angular deviation, as observed from the sun, of a planet from its perihelion.

ANSI

Acronym for American National Standards Institute. A voluntary, nonprofit organization of US business and industry groups formed in 1918 for the development of trade and communication standards. ANSI is the American representative of the International Standards Organization (ISO).

artifact

1. An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, a weapon, or an ornament of archaeological or historical interest. 2. A typical product or result. 3. Biology A structure or substance not normally present but produced by an external agent or action, such as a structure seen in a microscopic specimen after fixation that is not present in the living tissue.

ASCII

Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A code definition standard for information exchange between equipment produced by different manufacturers.

ASI

American Standards Association

asymmetry

n. Lack of balance or symmetry.

axonometric

Technical Drawing Of or relating to a method of projection in which an object is drawn with its horizontal and vertical axes to scale but with its curved lines and diagonals distorted.