resolution

res·o·lu·tion   (rěz'ə-lōō'shən)    n.   The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination. A resolving to do something. A course of action determined or decided on. A formal statement of a decision or expression of opinion put before or adopted by an assembly such as the U.S. Congress. Physics & Chemistry The act or process of separating or reducing something into its constituent parts: the prismatic resolution of sunlight into its spectral colors. The fineness of detail that can be distinguished in an image, as on a video display terminal. Medicine The subsiding or termination of an abnormal condition, such as a fever or an inflammation. Law A court decision. An explanation, as of a problem or puzzle; a solution. The part of a literary work in which the complications of the plot are resolved or simplified. The progression of a dissonant tone or chord to a consonant tone or chord. The tone or chord to which such a progression is made. Music The progression of a dissonant tone or chord to a consonant tone or chord. The tone or chord to which such a progression is made. The substitution of one metrical unit for another, especially the substitution of two short syllables for one long syllable in quantitative verse.

resolution 

Main Entry: res·o·lu·tion
Pronunciation: "re-z&-'lü-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : a formal expression of opinion, will, or intention voted by an official body (as a legislature) or assembled group —see also CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, JOINT RESOLUTION
2 : an expression or document containing authorization usually by a corporate board of directors of a particular act, transaction, agent, or representative resolution authorizing counsel to bind the corporation to a settlement>

Main Entry: res·o·lu·tion
Pronunciation: "rez-&-'lü-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the separating of a chemical compoundor mixture into its constituents
2 : the process or capability of making distinguishable the individual parts of an object, closely adjacent optical images, or sources of light
3 : the subsidence of a pathological state (as inflammation)

resolution res·o·lu·tion (rěz'ə-l&oomacr;'shən)
n.

1. The subsiding or termination of an abnormal condition, such as a fever or an inflammation.

2. The act or process of separating or reducing something into its constituent parts.

3. The fineness of detail that can be distinguished in an image, as on a video display terminal.

resolution
1. the maximum number of pixels that can be displayed on a monitor, expressed as (number of horizontal pixels) x (number of vertical pixels), i.e., 1024x768. The ratio of horizontal to vertical resolution is usually 4:3, the same as that of conventional television sets.
2. A mechanical method for proving statements of first order logic, introduced by J. A. Robinson in 1965. Resolution is applied to two clauses in a sentence. It eliminates, by unification, a literal that occurs "positive" in one and "negative" in the other to produce a new clause, the resolvent.
For example, given the sentence:
(man(X) => mortal(X)) AND man(socrates).
The literal "man(X)" is "negative". The literal "man(socrates)" could be considered to be on the right hand side of the degenerate implication
True => man(socrates)
and is therefore "positive". The two literals can be unified by the binding X = socrates.
The truth table for the implication function is
A | B | A => B --+---+------- F | F | T F | T | T T | F | F T | T | T
(The implication only fails if its premise is true but its conclusion is false). From this we can see that
A => B == (NOT A) OR B
Which is why the left hand side of the implication is said to be negative and the right positive. The sentence above could thus be written
((NOT man(socrates)) OR mortal(socrates)) AND man(socrates)
Distributing the AND over the OR gives
((NOT man(socrates)) AND man(socrates)) OR mortal(socrates) AND man(socrates)
And since (NOT A) AND A == False, and False OR A == A we can simplify to just
mortal(socrates) AND man(socrates)
So we have proved the new literal, mortal(socrates).
Resolution with backtracking is the basic control mechanism of Prolog.
See also modus ponens, SLD Resolution.
3. address resolution.
(1996-02-09)

resolution

in chemistry, any process by which a mixture called a racemate (q.v.) is separated into its two constituent enantiomorphs. (Enantiomorphs are pairs of substances that have dissymmetric arrangements of atoms and structures that are nonsuperposable mirror images of one another.) Two important methods of resolution were employed by Louis Pasteur. The first of these, known as the method of spontaneous resolution, can be used if the racemic substance crystallizes as a conglomerate composed of observably different particles of the two enantiomorphs, which can be physically sorted. Only a few instances of this condition have been reported; consequently, this method, although of historical and theoretical interest, seldom is applicable. Pasteur's second method, however, is of much greater practicality: it is based upon the conversion of the mixture of enantiomorphs into a mixture of diastereoisomers (optical isomers that are not mirror images of one another), which differ in physical properties and therefore can be separated. This transformation requires the use of a previously obtained optically active substance. For example, Pasteur showed in 1853 that, when racemic acid is mixed with a naturally occurring base, such as cinchonine, the resulting salt is a mixture of diastereoisomers and no longer one of enantiomorphs. The two salts present in the mixture, therefore, have different solubilities and so are separable

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