Search Result for "magnetic tape":
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. memory device consisting of a long thin plastic strip coated with iron oxide; used to record audio or video signals or to store computer information;
- Example: "he took along a dozen tapes to record the interview"
[syn: magnetic tape, mag tape, tape]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Magnetic \Mag*net"ic\, Magnetical \Mag*net"ic*al\, a. [L. magneticus: cf. F. magn['e]tique.] 1. Pertaining to the magnet; possessing the properties of the magnet, or corresponding properties; as, a magnetic bar of iron; a magnetic needle. [1913 Webster] 2. Of or pertaining to, or characterized by, the earth's magnetism; as, the magnetic north; the magnetic meridian. [1913 Webster] 3. Capable of becoming a magnet; susceptible to magnetism; as, the magnetic metals. [1913 Webster] 4. Endowed with extraordinary personal power to excite the feelings and to win the affections; attractive; inducing attachment. [1913 Webster] She that had all magnetic force alone. --Donne. [1913 Webster] 5. Having, susceptible to, or induced by, animal magnetism, so called; hypnotic; as, a magnetic sleep. See Magnetism. [Archaic] [1913 Webster +PJC] Magnetic amplitude, attraction, dip, induction, etc. See under Amplitude, Attraction, etc. Magnetic battery, a combination of bar or horseshoe magnets with the like poles adjacent, so as to act together with great power. Magnetic compensator, a contrivance connected with a ship's compass for compensating or neutralizing the effect of the iron of the ship upon the needle. Magnetic curves, curves indicating lines of magnetic force, as in the arrangement of iron filings between the poles of a powerful magnet. Magnetic elements. (a) (Chem. Physics) Those elements, as iron, nickel, cobalt, chromium, manganese, etc., which are capable or becoming magnetic. (b) (Physics) In respect to terrestrial magnetism, the declination, inclination, and intensity. (c) See under Element. Magnetic fluid, the hypothetical fluid whose existence was formerly assumed in the explanations of the phenomena of magnetism; -- no longer considered a meaningful concept. Magnetic iron, or Magnetic iron ore. (Min.) Same as Magnetite. Magnetic needle, a slender bar of steel, magnetized and suspended at its center on a sharp-pointed pivot, or by a delicate fiber, so that it may take freely the direction of the magnetic meridian. It constitutes the essential part of a compass, such as the mariner's and the surveyor's. Magnetic poles, the two points in the opposite polar regions of the earth at which the direction of the dipping needle is vertical. Magnetic pyrites. See Pyrrhotite. Magnetic storm (Terrestrial Physics), a disturbance of the earth's magnetic force characterized by great and sudden changes. magnetic tape (Electronics), a ribbon of plastic material to which is affixed a thin layer of powder of a material which can be magnetized, such as ferrite. Such tapes are used in various electronic devices to record fluctuating voltages, which can be used to represent sounds, images, or binary data. Devices such as audio casette recorders, videocasette recorders, and computer data storage devices use magnetic tape as an inexpensive medium to store data. Different magnetically susceptible materials are used in such tapes. Magnetic telegraph, a telegraph acting by means of a magnet. See Telegraph. [1913 Webster + PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

magnetic tape \magnetic tape\ n. A long thin plastic ribbon coated with iron oxide or other ferromagnetic material, used to record audio or video signals digital data in the form of small magnetized regions on the tape; it is a common digital data storage medium for computer information. Syn: mag tape, tape. [WordNet 1.5]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

magnetic tape n 1: memory device consisting of a long thin plastic strip coated with iron oxide; used to record audio or video signals or to store computer information; "he took along a dozen tapes to record the interview" [syn: magnetic tape, mag tape, tape]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

41 Moby Thesaurus words for "magnetic tape": Flexowriter typewriter, Teleplotter, alphabetical printer, bulletin board, card, catalog card, digital graph plotter, disc, file, filing card, film, hard copy, index card, library catalog, magnetic recorder, microcard, microcards, microdot, microfiche, microfilm, motion-picture film, oscillograph recorder, oscilloscope, phonograph record, platter, printout, punch cards, punched tape, reader, readout, recorder, relay register, scoreboard, scorecard, scoresheet, slip, tape, tape reader, teletypewriter, ticker tape, videotape
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

magnetic tape (Or "magtape", "tape" - paper tape is now obsolete) A data storage medium consisting of a magnetisable oxide coating on a thin plastic strip, commonly used for backup and archiving. Early industry-standard magnetic tape was half an inch wide and wound on removable reels 10.5 inches in diameter. Different lengths were available with 2400 feet and 4800 feet being common. DECtape was a variation on this "round tape". In modern magnetic tape systems the reels are much smaller and are fixed inside a cartridge to protect the tape and for ease of handling ("square tape" - though it's really rectangular). Cartridge formats include QIC, DAT, and Exabyte. Tape is read and written on a tape drive (or "deck") which winds the tape from one reel to the other causing it to move past a read/write head. Early tape had seven parallel tracks of data along the length of the tape allowing six bit characters plus parity written across the tape. A typical recording density was 556 characters per inch. The tape had reflective marks near its end which signaled beginning of tape (BOT) and end of tape (EOT) to the hardware. Data is written to tape in blocks with inter-block gaps between them. Each block is typically written in a single operation with the tape running continuously during the write. The larger the block the larger the data buffer required in order to supply or receive the data written to or read from the tape. The smaller the block the more tape is wasted as inter-block gaps. Several logical records may be combined into one physical block to reduce wastage ("blocked records"). Finding a certain block on the tape generally involved reading sequentially from the beginning, in contrast to magnetic disks. Tape is not suitable for random access. The exception to this is that some systems allow tape marks to be written which can be detected while winding the tape forward or rewinding it at high speed. These are typically used to separate logical files on a tape. Most tape drives now include some kind of data compression. There are several algorithms which provide similar results: LZ (most), IDRC (Exabyte), ALDC (IBM, QIC) and DLZ1 (DLT). See also cut a tape, flap, Group Code Recording, spool, macrotape, microtape, Non Return to Zero Inverted, Phase Encoded. (1997-04-05)