form factor

English

Noun

form factor (plural form factors)

1. (physics) The ratio of the RMS value to the absolute mean of a sinusoidal wave (especially to that of an alternating current).
2. (physics) Any of several functions that describe the unknown internal state of a particle.
3. (physics) The emissivity of a material.
4. (crystallography) A function that describes the scattering power of an atom as function of the scattering angle.
5. (mechanics) A factor describing the stress distribution of a body.
7. (engineering, design, commerce) The geometry of an object, especially in engineering design; configuration.
   • 2004, Scott Mueller, Upgrading and Repairing Laptops, page 311:

     Shugart Associates first introduced the 5.25-inch form factor along with the first 5.25-inch floppy drive back in 1976.

   • 2007, March, Erin McKean, “Redefining the dictionary”, Technology Entertainment Design

     I want him to barely remember that this is the form factor that dictionaries used to come in.

Translations

The ratio of the RMS value to the absolute mean

Finnish: muotokerroin Russian: коэффициент формы m (koefficijent formy)

in quantum field theory

Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Finnish: muotokerroin German: Formfaktor m Italian: fattore di forma Japanese: please add this translation if you can Romanian: factor de formă m Russian: форм-фа́ктор (ru) m (form-fáktor) Spanish: factor de forma m Swedish: formfaktor c Turkish: biçim katsayısı (tr)

The geometry of an object in engineering design

Finnish: kokoluokka (fi) Russian: типоразмер (ru) m (tiporazmer)

Further reading

• form factor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia