Scale Factor (computer Science)
A scale factor is used in computer science when a real world set of numbers needs to be represented on a different scale in order to fit a specific number format. For instance, a 16 bit unsigned integer (uint16) can only hold a value as large as 65,53510. If uint16's are to be used to represent values from 0 to 131,07010, then a scale factor of 1/2 would be introduced. Notice that while the scale factor extends the range, it also decreases the precision. In this example, for instance, the number 3 could not be represented because a stored 1 represents a real world 2, and a stored 2 represents a real world 4.
Read more about Scale Factor (computer Science): Uses, Operations On Scaled Values, Picking A Scale Factor
Famous quotes containing the words scale and/or factor:
“The poet is the person in whom these powers are in balance, the man without impediment, who sees and handles that which others dream of, traverses the whole scale of experience, and is representative of man, in virtue of being the largest power to receive and to impart.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive factor; it is people, not things, that are decisive. The contest of strength is not only a contest of military and economic power, but also a contest of human power and morale. Military and economic power is necessarily wielded by people.”
—Mao Zedong (1893–1976)