[ak-sel-uh-rey-ter] 
| 1. | a person or thing that accelerates. |
| 2. | Automotive. a device, usually operated by the foot, for controlling the speed of an engine. |
| 3. | British. any two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle, as a motorcycle or motor scooter. |
| 4. | Photography. a chemical, usually an alkali, added to a developer to increase the rate of development. |
| 5. | Also called accelerant. Chemistry. any substance that increases the speed of a chemical change, as one that increases the rate of vulcanization of rubber or that hastens the setting of concrete, mortar, plaster, or the like. |
| 6. | Anatomy, Physiology. any muscle, nerve, or activating substance that quickens a movement. |
| 7. | Also called atom smasher, particle accelerator. Physics. an electrostatic or electromagnetic device, as a cyclotron, that produces high-energy particles and focuses them on a target. |
| 8. | Economics. acceleration coefficient. |
| the ratio of change in capital investment to the change in consumer spending. |
| ac·cel·er·a·tor (āk-sěl'ə-rā'tər) n.
|
accelerator ac·cel·er·a·tor (āk-sěl'ə-rā'tər)
n.
One that increases rapidity of action or function.
A nerve, muscle, or substance that quickens movement or response.
A catalyst.
accelerator hardware
Additional hardware to perform some function faster than is possible in software running on the normal CPU. Examples include graphics accelerators and floating-point accelerators.
(1994-11-08)
accelerator
in the rubber industry, any of numerous chemical substances that cause vulcanization (q.v.) of rubber to occur more rapidly or at lower temperatures. Many classes of compounds act as accelerators, the most important being organic materials containing sulfur and nitrogen, especially derivatives of benzothiazole.
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