node
/nəʊd
/noun technical
1A point in a network or diagram at which lines or pathways intersect or branch: the intersections of two or more such arteries would clearly become major nodes of traffic and urban activity...
- To the east is Aegidientorplatz, a major node and traffic intersection dominated by an axially placed theatre.
- It provided near-real-time monitoring of the flow of critical classes of supply across critical nodes and lines of communication.
- In a network the decision points are called nodes and the lines connecting nodes are called edges or paths.
Synonyms
junction, fork, branching, intersection, interchange, confluence, convergence, meeting point, crossing, criss-crossing, vertex, apex
1.1A piece of equipment, such as a computer or peripheral, attached to a network: the company’s internal worldwide area network now has some 22,000 nodes every node on the Internet...
- With an Ethernet interface, each cable modem appears as a node on an Ethernet LAN.
- A plurality of computer nodes communicate using seemingly random Internet Protocol source and destination addresses.
- Network nodes can be notebooks, handheld computers or other devices that accept MeshNetworks' communications card.
1.2 Mathematics A point at which a curve intersects itself.The slope of the chord between two nodes is the average of the slope of the tangents at the end points....
- We prove this result when the curves have cusps and nodes, not in a prescribed position.
1.3 Astronomy Either of the two points at which a planet’s orbit intersects the plane of the ecliptic or the celestial equator.Lunar eclipses occur at the time of a Full Moon, and when the Moon is near one of the nodes of intersection between its orbit and the ecliptic plane....
- This is because the nodes of the orbit of Venus pass across the Sun in early June at the descending node, and early December at the ascending node.
- If the lunar orbit were fixed in space, such that the nodes occurred always in the same locations, then the Sun would pass through those nodes once per solar year.
2 Botany The part of a plant stem from which one or more leaves emerge, often forming a slight swelling: the stem is cut midway between nodes...
- For each plant, we recorded the number of leaf nodes producing flowers and the total fruit production.
- Each shoot has several leaves arising from nodes located near its tip.
- Both the stems and leaves, which occur in whorls at the node, are covered in hooks; these are thought to aid attachment to their support and allow the plant to climb without twining.
3 Anatomy A lymph node or other structure consisting of a small mass of differentiated tissue: infection in these nodes may lead to backache...
- Fixed, firm, or matted lymph nodes and nodes larger than 1.5 cm require further evaluation.
- Some of the calcium channel blockers also exert an inhibitory effect on the sinus and atrioventricular nodes, causing the heart rate to slow.
- Computed tomographic scan of the chest and abdomen revealed multiple enlarged nodes in the retroperitoneum, superior mediastinum, and axillae.
4 Physics & Mathematics A point at which the amplitude of vibration in a standing wave system is zero.While in St Petersburg he made one of his most famous discoveries when he defined the simple nodes and the frequencies of oscillation of a system....
- Here a beam selectively pushes one size of particles toward a standing light wave, which directs the particles toward its nodes.
4.1A point at which a harmonic function has the value zero, especially a point of zero electron density in an orbital.Consider a random walk on a graph where at each time point we move from the current node to one of its neighbors.
4.2A point of zero current or voltage.The first switch group is formed by switches, which are connected to nodes between the resistors....
- Two measurement pads are in each case provided at the nodes between two resistors.
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting a knotty swelling or a protuberance): from Latin nodus 'knot'.