electro-, electr-, electri-

(Greek > Latin: electric, electricity; from amber, resembling amber, generated from amber which when rubbed vigorously [as by friction], produced the effect of static electricity)

Electronics in our lives consists of numerous tools

Equipment which we use everyday relies on electronics to function including calculators, car controls, cameras, washing machines, medical scanners, mobile telephones, radar systems, computers; as well as many other applications or devices which are listed in this unit.

electron telescope
1. A mechanism used to see through haze and fog when an infrared image is formed optically on the photoemissive mosaic of an electron-image tube and then made visible by the tube.
2. An instrument in which the infrared light of a distant object is focused onto a photocathode tube, enlarged by a series of electron lenses, and reproduced onto a fluorescent screen to form an image of the object.
3. A telescope in which an infrared image of a distant object is focused on the photosensitive cathode of an image converter tube.

The resulting electron image is enlarged by electron lenses and made visible by a fluorescent screen.

electron temperature
The temperature at which the ideal gas molecules would have an average kinetic energy equal to that of electrons in a plasma which is being investigated.
electron trajectory
The path of one electron in an electron tube.
electron transfer (s) (noun), electron transfers (pl)
The passage of a stable subatomic particle that goes from one atom or molecule to another one either by collision or by other procedures: The electron transfer from one part of a system to another component.
electron transit time (s) (noun), electron transit times (pl)
The time required for electrons to travel between two electrodes in a vacuum tube.

Such time is extremely important in tubes designed for ultrahigh frequencies.

electron transition (s) (noun), electron transitions (pl)
The change of an electron from one situation to another one, accompanied by the emission or an absorption of electromagnetic radiation.
electron transport (s) (noun), electron transports (pl)
A process of biological oxidation in which electrons are transferred from a reduced substrate through a series of compounds to oxygen, the energy of the process being conserved by the formation of high-energy bonds in the form of adenosine triphosphate (an organic compound composed of adenine or base, the sugar ribose, and three phosphate groups) which serves as the major energy source within a cell to drive a number of biological processes; such as, photosynthesis, muscle contraction, and the synthesis of proteins.
electron transport chain (s) (noun), electron transport chains (pl)
1. A series of electron carriers which occurs within certain membranes; such as, the mitochondrial membrane, and produces energy for a cell.
2. The final common pathway of biological oxidation, the series of electron carriers in the inner mitochondrial membrane which pass electrons from reduced co-enzymes to molecular oxygen via sequential redox (oxidation-reduction) reactions coupled to proton transport, generating energy for biological processes.
electron transport phosphorylation
The conversion of inorganic phosphate into pyrophosphate from a reaction powered by energy in a transmembrane gradient of ions generated by an electron transport chain.

It occurs in respiratory metabolism and in some types of fermentation.

electron transport system
1. A series of reduction-oxidation reactions, beginning with increased strength and ending in oxygen, which constitutes the final stage of aerobic respiration.

It is also involved in the light reaction of photosynthesis.

2. The components of the final sequence of reactions in biological oxidations.

They are composed of a series of oxidizing agents arranged in an order of increasing strength and terminating in oxygen.

electron trap
The defect or chemical impurity in a semiconductor or insulator that acquires mobile electrons.
electron trapping optical memory (s) (noun), ETOM
A method of erasable optical data storage in which information is stored by visible light, then read by illumination with an infrared source that returns trapped electrons to their ground state.

Erasability is achieved by using a higher infrared level than that which is used in reading.

electron tube amplifier, electron-tube amplifier (s) (noun); electron tube amplifiers, electron-tube amplifiers (pl)
A circuit which uses electron tubes to provide the additional power needed to increase a signal: "An electron-tube amplifier provides the required increase in signal strength."
electron tube generator, electron-tube generator
1. A tool which transforms direct current into a radio frequency by passing it through an electron tube in an oscillator circuit.
2. A generator in which direct-current (DC) energy is converted to radio-frequency (RF) energy by an electron tube in an oscillator circuit.
electron tube heater, electron-tube heater
An electric heating element for supplying heat to an indirectly heated cathode in an electron tube.

The references or sources of information for compiling the words and definitions in this unit are listed at this Electronic Bibliography page or specific sources are indicated when they are appropriate.


A cross reference of word units that are related, directly and/or indirectly, with "electricity": galvano-; hodo-; ion-; piezo-; -tron; volt; biomechatronics, info; mechatronics, info.