The Illustrated Dictionary of Electronics—8th Edition has been revised, clarified, and updated, reflecting technological advances of recent years. New definitions have been added in the fields of wireless technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Every effort has been made to be concise and accurate, without “talking down” to the reader. | Front 4/9/01 4:38 PM Page i The Illustrated Dictionary of Electronics This page intentionally left blank. Front 4/9/01 4:38 PM Page iii The Illustrated Dictionary of Electronics Eighth Edition Stan Gibilisco Editor-in-Chief McGraw-Hill New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto Front 4/12/01 4:38 PM Page iv Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress McGraw-Hill abc Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 AGM/AGM 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 P/N 0-07-137237-7 ISBN 0-07-137236-9 The sponsoring editor for this book was Scott Grillo, and the production supervisor was Pamela Pelton. It was set in Bookman by Techbooks. Printed and bound by Quebecor/Martinsburg. McGraw-Hill books are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. For more information, please write to the Director of Special Sales, McGraw-Hill, Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2298. Or contact your local bookstore Information in this book has been obtained by the publisher from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither the 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 required, the .