attenuation

3 definitions found

attenuation - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Attenuation \At*ten`u*a"tion\, n. [L. attenuatio: cf. F.
     att['e]nuation.]
     1. The act or process of making slender, or the state of
        being slender; emaciation.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The act of attenuating; the act of making thin or less
        dense, or of rarefying, as fluids or gases.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The process of weakening in intensity; diminution of
        virulence; as, the attenuation of virus.
        [1913 Webster]

attenuation - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  attenuation
      n 1: weakening in force or intensity; "attenuation in the volume
           of the sound" [syn: attenuation, fading]
      2: the property of something that has been weakened or reduced
         in thickness or density

attenuation - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  attenuation
  
     <communications> The progressive reduction in amplitude of a
     signal as it travels farther from the point of origin.
  
     For example, an electric signal's amplitude reduces with
     distance due to electrical impedance.  Attenuation is
     usually measured in decibels [per metre?].
  
     Attenuation does not imply appreciable modification of the
     shape of the waveform (distortion), though as the signal
     amplitude falls the signal-to-noise ratio will also fall
     unless the channel itself is noise free or the signal is
     amplified at some intermediate point(s) along the channel.
  
     ["Networking Essentials, second edition",
     Microsoft Corporation, pub. Microsoft Press 1997].
  
     (2003-07-29)