A scale factor is a number which scales, or multiplies, some quantity. In the equation y=Cx, C is the scale factor for x. C is also the coefficient of x, and may be called the constant of proportionality of y to x. For example, doubling distances corresponds to a scale factor of 2 for distance, while cutting a cake in half results in pieces with a scale factor of ½. The basic equation for it is image over preimage. In the field of measurements, the scale factor of an instrument is sometimes referred to as sensitivity.
Famous quotes containing the words scale and/or factor:
“‘Tis very certain that each man carries in his eye the exact indication of his rank in the immense scale of men, and we are always learning to read it. A complete man should need no auxiliaries to his personal presence.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“You factor in racism as a reality and you keep moving.”
—Jewell Jackson McCabe (b. 1945)