oscillator

English

Etymology

From oscillate +‎ -or.

Noun

oscillator (plural oscillators)

1. A tuned electronic circuit used to generate a continuous output waveform.
2. An instrument for measuring rigidity by the torsional oscillations of a weighted wire.
3. (cellular automata) A pattern that returns to its original state, in the same orientation and position, after a finite number of generations.

   Hyponyms: blinker, pentadecathlon

   Meronym: rotor

   • 1989 October 26, Richard Schroeppel, “Some recent Life results”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[1] (Usenet):

     He has turned up a number of new oscillators of periods 2,3,4,5,6, & 8.

   • 1996 December 16, Paul Callahan, “Need help in finding topic for research project”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[2] (Usenet):

     Two track segments, each of which realizes the same transformation in a different number of generations are particularly useful for obtaining oscillator periods.

   • 2010, Andrew Adamatzky, Game of Life Cellular Automata, page 126:

     Synthesis of spaceship flotillas is even more complicated than synthesis of oscillators, since spaceships are like oscillators that move […]

Derived terms

• Armstrong oscillator
• electronic oscillator
• harmonic oscillator
• Hartley oscillator
• Meissner oscillator
• Oudin oscillator
• piezoelectric oscillator
• ring oscillator
• simple harmonic oscillator

 

Translations

an electronic circuit used to generate a continuous output waveform

• Bulgarian: осцилатор m (oscilator)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 振盪器／振荡器 (zh) (zhèndàngqì)

• Czech: oscilátor (cs) m
• Esperanto: oscililo
• Estonian: ostsillaator (et)
• Finnish: oskillaattori (fi), värähtelijä (fi)
• French: oscillateur (fr) m
• German: Oszillator (de) m
• Greek: ταλαντωτής (el) m (talantotís)
• Hindi: दोलक (dolak)
• Japanese: 発振器 (はっしんき, hasshinki)
• Persian: نوسانگر (fa) (navasângar)
• Portuguese: oscilador m
• Romanian: oscilator (ro) n
• Russian: осцилля́тор (ru) m (oscilljátor)
• Spanish: oscilador m
• Tamil: அலையியற்றி (ta) (alaiyiyaṟṟi)
• Turkish: osilatör, salıngaç
• Welsh: osgiliadur m