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Glossary
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Glossary
0/24 mA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . range of current for the current loop (0mA=minimum reading,
24mA=maximum reading)
4/20 mA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . range of current for the current loop (4mA=minimum reading,
20mA=maximum reading) - preferred because less than 4mA can
indicate a fault or open circuit, also there is at least 4mA available
to power equipment
7 segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . type of display configuration - where 7 segments can be used to
form the numbers 0 through 9 and most letters
A/D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . analog to digital - a device or circuit that converts an analog voltage
to a digital number
absorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . retention by penetration into bulk of material
adsorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . retention as a surface layer on a material
accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . quantification of the magnitude of error of a measurement, or
degree of conformity with a standard.
Al
2
O
3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . aluminum oxide
attenuation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the decrease in intensity of a signal, as a result of absorption of
energy, measured in decibels (dB).
AWG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Wire Gauge (size of the wire, cross section area of the
wire)
baud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bits per second of data transfer (over the serial interface)
bit(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Binary digit(s) - ones and zeros
BNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a connector type, used with coaxial cables
bypass mounting . . . . . . . . . . sensor mounting in a slip stream of sample, which feeds back into
the process stream
CE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conformitée Europeane; symbol affixed to a product indicating its
conformance with directives issued by the European Community
(EC)
CENELEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comité Europeen de Normalisation Electrotechnique (European
Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization); amongst many
others has set standards for intrinsic safety
check sum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . an arithmetic total on a set of data: e.g. the data in the instrument's
memory is summed, and compared to a previously stored sum to
check for corrupted data
coalescing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . formation of liquids in gas samples, or separation and collection for
disposal of liquids from gas samples
control drawing . . . . . . . . . . . schematics and system drawing of hazardous area approved appara-
tus with control number issued by approval agency
CSA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Canadian Standards Association
CTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clear To Send - a label for a RS232 interface control line
cUL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . indicates UL evaluation of a product to Canadian safety require-
ments
current loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a circuit where the variation in the current flow is used to indicate
the value of a measurement from the instrument, only 2 wires are