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black box

 Origin

black box

 
noun
1.
any unit that forms part of an electronic circuit and that has its function, but not its components, specified.
2.
any comparatively small, usually black, box containing a secret, mysterious, or complex mechanical or electronic device.
3.
Aeronautics. an electronic device, such as a flight recorder, that can be removed from an aircraft as a single package.
4.
Automotive. a device in an electronic ignition system that generates electrical pulses.
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Origin:
1940–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Black box is always a great word to know.
So is compressional strain. Does it mean:
vibratory motion in system in which restoring force is proportional to displacement from equilibrium
fractional volume change of a body due to uniform pressure
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Collins
World English Dictionary
black box
 
—n
1.  a self-contained unit in an electronic or computer system whose circuitry need not be known to understand its function
2.  an informal name for flight recorder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

black box
1947, RAF slang for "navigational instruments;" later extended to any sort of apparatus that operates in a sealed container. Especially of flight recorders from c.1964.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

black box definition


A crash-resistant steel container that holds instruments that record performance data in airplanes. The data are used to analyze the causes of accidents.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

black box definition

jargon
An abstraction of a device or system in which only its externally visible behaviour is considered and not its implementation or "inner workings".
See also functional testing.
(1997-07-03)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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