18WuD2x

W 1. Symbol for WORK. 2. Abbreviation of WATT.
3. Symbol for TUNGSTEN. 4. Symbol for EN-
ERGY. 5. Abbreviation of west. 6. Abbreviation of
WIDTH.
w 1. Abbreviation of WEIGHT. (Also, wt.) 2. Abbreviation
of week.
WAC Amateur radio abbreviation of Worked All
Continents, an award given to operators who have
engaged in verified two-way communication with
stations on all continents.
wafer 1. Semiconductor die. 2. A thin, flat disk,
ring, or plate around which the contacts of a rotary
switch are spaced. 3. A thin square or rectangle
of dielectric material used as the dielectric
member in a fixed capacitor. 4. A plate cut from a
crystal (e.g., a quartz wafer).
wafer fabrication The various processes used in
the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits.
wafer slicing Cutting plates from a mother crystal,
as when piezoelectric plates are cut from a quartz
crystal.
wafer socket A component socket consisting of a
plastic or ceramic wafer with spring-type contacts
for gripping the pins.
wafer switch A rotary switch whose contacts are
arranged around the periphery of a plastic or ceramic
wafer.
Wagner ground A circuit (often a single potentiometer)
that facilitates cancellation of stray reactance
in an alternating-current bridge. The
bridge is balanced alternately with the bridgebalance
control and the Wagner control, until
there is no further shift of null point when changing
from one to the other.
Bridgebalance
control
Det
Wagner
control
Gen
Wagner ground
(with capacitance bridge)
waiting time 1. See WARMUP TIME. 2. The delay
between the time a data transfer to or from a
computer memory is called for and the actual
transfer of the data. Also called LATENCY.
walkie-lookie A portable combination camera and
transmitter for remote television pickup. At
sports events and other gatherings, the unit is
strapped to the shoulder of the camera operator.
walkie-talkie A portable, compact transceiver (or
transmitter-receiver).
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