integrator
/'intigreitə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A measuring instrument for measuring the area of an irregular plane figure: An integrator is a device, often mechanical or electronic, that performs the mathematical operation of integration. In practical terms, it can calculate the area under a curve or the accumulated total of a varying quantity over time or distance.
Examples of Usage
- The engineer used an integrator to determine the total energy consumption from the fluctuating power graph.
- Early analog computers employed mechanical integrators to solve complex differential equations.
- In the laboratory, an electronic integrator was connected to the output of the detector to measure the total charge.
Advanced Usage
- Mathematical and Engineering Context: The term is most commonly used in fields like calculus, control systems engineering, signal processing, and analog computing to describe a component or circuit whose output is proportional to the integral of its input signal.
- Example: The feedback loop in the servo mechanism contains an integrator to eliminate steady-state error.
- Figurative/Modern Context: In business or social contexts, "integrator" can sometimes be used metaphorically to describe a person or system that brings together disparate elements into a unified whole. However, this is a secondary, extended meaning and the primary technical definition remains dominant.
- Example: She acted as an integrator within the team, synthesizing ideas from different departments.
Variants and Related Words
- Integrate (verb): To combine one thing with another to form a whole; in mathematics, to find the integral of a function.
- Integration (noun): The action or process of integrating; the finding of an integral.
- Integral (adjective & noun): Necessary to make a whole complete; (in mathematics) a function whose derivative is a given function.
- Disintegrator (noun): A device that breaks something down into its component parts; the opposite of an integrator in a non-mathematical sense.
Synonyms
- Accumulator (in specific technical contexts, like computing or electronics)
- Totalizer (a device that registers a total, often used in similar measuring contexts)
Related Phrases
- Integrating circuit/integrator circuit: An electronic circuit that acts as an integrator.
- Mechanical integrator: A physical device, such as a planimeter, that performs integration through mechanical means.
Noun
- a measuring instrument for measuring the area of an irregular plane figure