lost in the underflow

2 definitions found

lost in the underflow - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  lost in the underflow
  
     <jargon> Too small to be worth considering; more specifically,
     small beyond the limits of accuracy or measurement.  This is a
     reference to "floating point underflow".
  
     The Hacker's Jargon File claimed that it is also a pun on
     "undertow" (a kind of fast, cold current that sometimes runs
     just offshore and can be dangerous to swimmers).
  
     "Well, sure, photon pressure from the stadium lights alters
     the path of a thrown baseball, but that effect gets lost in
     the underflow".
  
     Compare epsilon, epsilon squared; see also overflow bit.
  
     (1997-09-05)
  

lost in the underflow - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  lost in the underflow
   adj.
  
     Too small to be worth considering; more specifically, small beyond
  the
     limits of accuracy or measurement. This is a reference to floating
     underflow, a condition that can occur when a floating-point
  arithmetic
     processor tries to handle quantities smaller than its limit of
     magnitude. It is also a pun on `undertow' (a kind of fast, cold
     current that sometimes runs just offshore and can be dangerous to
     swimmers). "Well, sure, photon pressure from the stadium lights
  alters
     the path of a thrown baseball, but that effect gets lost in the
     underflow." Compare epsilon, epsilon squared; see also overflow bit
     .