COMPRESSION

Compression

In mechanics, compression is the application of balanced inward forces to different points on a material or structure, that is, forces with no net sum or torque directed so as to reduce its size in one or more directions. It is contrasted with tension or traction, the application of balanced outward forces; and with shearing forces, directed so as to displace layers of the material parallel to each other. The compressive strength of materials and structures is an important engineering consideration.

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compression

Noun

  1. an increase in density; the act of compressing, or the state of being compressed; compaction
  2. the cycle of an internal combustion engine during which the fuel and air mixture is compressed
  3. the process by which data is compressed
  4. the electronic process by which any sound's gain is automatically controlled


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: compression
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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