Social constructivism is a theory that suggests that knowledge and understanding are developed through social interactions and experiences. It emphasizes the importance of culture, context, and relationships in the process of learning. This perspective contrasts with traditional views of knowledge as something that can be transmitted objectively from one individual to another. Key principles of social constructivism include: 1. **Social Interaction**: Learning is fundamentally a social process.
The Roentgen Equivalent Man (rem) is a unit of measurement used to quantify the biological effect of ionizing radiation on human tissue. It is a derived unit that takes into account the type of radiation and its potential to cause harm to humans. In essence, the rem is used to express the effective dose of radiation, considering both the amount of energy deposited in the tissue and the type of radiation (such as alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, etc.
The Toxicity Equivalency Factor (TEF) is a method used to assess the toxicity of a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, or other similar compounds by converting their concentrations into a common units or scale.
Message Authentication Codes (MACs) are cryptographic constructs used to verify the integrity and authenticity of a message. A MAC is generated by applying a cryptographic hash function or a symmetric key algorithm to the message data combined with a secret key. This results in a fixed-size string of bits (the MAC), which is then sent along with the message. ### Key Features of MACs: 1. **Integrity**: MACs ensure that the message has not been altered in transit.
Concatenated error correction codes are a type of coding scheme used in digital communication and data storage to improve the reliability of data transmission. The basic idea behind concatenated coding is to combine two or more error-correcting codes to enhance their error correction capabilities. ### How Concatenated Error Correction Codes Work 1.
Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) is a fault tolerance technique used in various systems, particularly in computing and critical control applications. The main goal of DMR is to improve the reliability and availability of a system by using redundancy. In a DMR setup, two identical modules (or components), such as processors, memory units, or other critical hardware elements, are used to perform the same operations simultaneously. The outputs of these two modules are then compared to ensure they agree.
In computing, "Echo" can refer to a few different concepts depending on the context. Here are the most common usages: 1. **Echo Command**: In many command-line interfaces and programming languages, the `echo` command is used to display a line of text or a variable value to the standard output (usually the terminal or console). For example, in Unix/Linux shell scripting, you might use `echo "Hello, World!"` to print that string to the screen.
Error concealment refers to techniques used in digital communication and data transmission systems to mask or correct errors that occur during the transmission or storage of data. These errors can arise from various factors, such as signal degradation, noise, or interference. Error concealment is especially important in applications where maintaining data integrity and quality is critical, such as in video streaming, telecommunications, and audio processing.
The Internet checksum is a simple error-detecting scheme used primarily in network protocols, most notably in the Internet Protocol (IP) and the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). It allows the detection of errors that may have occurred during the transmission of data over a network. ### How It Works: 1. **Calculation**: - The data to be transmitted is divided into equal-sized segments (usually 16 bits, or two bytes).
Iterative Viterbi decoding is a technique used in the context of decoding convolutional codes, which are commonly employed in communication systems for error correction. The traditional Viterbi algorithm is a maximum likelihood decoding algorithm that uses dynamic programming to find the most likely sequence of transmitted states based on received signals. However, it typically operates in a single pass and can be computationally intensive for long sequences or complex codes.
Majority logic decoding is a decoding technique used primarily in error correction codes, particularly in the context of linear block codes and some forms of convolutional codes. The main idea behind majority logic decoding is to recover the original message by making decisions based on the majority of received bits, thereby mitigating the impact of errors that may have occurred during transmission. ### Key Concepts 1. **Error Correction Codes**: These are methods used to detect and correct errors in transmitted data.
Polar codes are a class of error-correcting codes introduced by Erdal Arikan in 2008. They are notable for being the first family of codes that can achieve the capacity of symmetric binary-input discrete memoryless channels (B-DMCs) with low complexity. Polar codes are particularly significant in the context of modern communication systems due to their efficiency in coding and decoding.
Preparata codes are a family of error-correcting codes that are used in coding theory to protect data against errors during transmission or storage. They are particularly known for their ability to correct multiple errors in a codeword. The primary characteristics of Preparata codes include: 1. **High Error Correction Capability**: Preparata codes can correct a larger number of errors compared to some traditional coding schemes.
Sequential decoding is a technique used in communication systems and information theory for decoding sequences of data encoded for transmission. This method is particularly relevant in the context of error-correcting codes and various coding schemes, such as convolutional codes. ### Key Features of Sequential Decoding: 1. **Step-by-Step Decoding**: Sequential decoding operates on a sequence of received symbols, using previously decoded symbols to inform the decoding of subsequent ones.
Angle trisection is the problem of dividing an arbitrary angle into three equal parts using only a compass and straightedge, which is one of the classical problems of ancient Greek geometry. The problem can be traced back to the works of ancient mathematicians, and it remains significant in the history of mathematics because it was proven to be impossible to accomplish using only these traditional tools for any general angle.
In mathematics, particularly in the fields of group theory and geometric group theory, a **triangle group** is a type of group that can be defined geometrically by its presentation and associated with the symmetries of triangles in a certain way.
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869–1959) was a Scottish physicist and meteorologist best known for his invention of the cloud chamber, a device that allows the visualization of the paths of charged particles. His work in this area was crucial for the development of particle physics and contributed to the understanding of ionizing radiation.
David Sherrington is a British physicist known for his contributions to the fields of condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics, and the theory of disordered systems. He is particularly recognized for his work on spin glasses and the physics of complex systems. Sherrington is perhaps best known for the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model, which he co-developed with Daniel Kirkpatrick.
Nicholas Kemmer (1911–1998) was a prominent physicist known for his contributions to the field of particle physics. Born in Russia, he later moved to England, where he played a significant role in developing the theory of mesons and their interactions. Kemmer is particularly known for Kemmer's theory, which describes the behavior of scalar and vector mesons. His work has been influential in advancing the understanding of fundamental particles and their interactions within the framework of quantum mechanics.
Frances Saunders is a scientist known for her work in the field of chemistry, particularly in the area of chemical physics and the study of materials. She has made contributions to understanding the properties and behavior of various materials, often focusing on their molecular and atomic structure. Saunders has published research papers and may have been involved in academic or industrial collaborations.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact