Glossary

Nanoampere(s)

Nanovolt (nV): Unit of measure. A billionth of a volt.

Normally closed (switch contacts)

Noise figure

Network interface card

Nickel metal hydride: A rechargeable-battery technology.

Nonmaskable interrupt

An n-channel metal-oxide semiconductor (nMOS) transistor is one in which n-type dopants are used in the gate region (the "channel"). A positive voltage on the gate turns the device on.

Normally open (Switch contact)

Nonvolatile (NV) RAM is memory which retains its stored value when power is removed.

A combination of inert and corrosive gases usually associated with exhaust fumes or industrial by-products gases which can cause corrosive effects on temperature and pressure sensors when exposed.

Noise-power ratio

Nonradiative dielectric

Nonrecurring engineering — one-time engineering costs associated with a project.

Non Return to Zero: A binary encoding scheme in which ones and zeroes are represented by opposite and alternating high and low voltages, and where there is no return to a zero (reference) voltage between encoded bits. That is, the stream has only two valu

Nanosecond(s)

Negative temperature coefficient

A tiny, tiny amount. Pronounced "enth." From 1/n, which is one "nth."

NTSC is the color television standard established by the National Television Standards Committee in the United States in 1953. The NTSC standard's distinguishing feature was that it added color to the original 1941 black and white television standard in s

Nanovolt seconds

Nanowatt(s)

In A/D conversion, the Nyquist principle (derived from the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem) states that the sampling rate must be at least twice the maximum bandwidth of the analog signal in order to allow the signal to be reproduced. The maximum bandwid