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

1. a measuring instrument for measuring the area of an irregular plane figure