magnetic core
1
8.6
- noun
- Archaic
:
núcleo magnético
- The computer itself was the size of a big, wooden office desk, but it had only 8k of magnetic core memory coiled in little metal donuts.
- magnetic core memory
Examples
-
The combination of a high working frequency and a transformer without any magnetic core enables eddy currents to be used to detect the position of the target.
Academic text (1997) -
And Forrester and one of his graduate students create the magnetic core memory that's part of this whirlwind system.
-
They used electroplating techniques to make the magnetic cores and the current-carrying coils so that they have relatively low resistance.
Academic text (1994) -
In the early days of computing, data was stored using a magnetic core memory system that was less efficient than today’s technology.
-
Engineers used magnetic cores in the design of early computers to hold bits of information before the advent of modern alternatives.
-
The transition from magnetic core memory to semiconductor devices marked a significant advancement in computer technology.
Synonyms
13
8.8
A small magnetic ring used in early computers to store one bit
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: a B1 learner who knows 'magnetic' (having magnetism) and 'core' (central part) can infer it denotes a core that is magnetic. The computer-science sense (a ferrite ring used for memory) is a specific technical instantiation of a magnetic core, so the basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Magnetic core comes from early computers that used tiny ring-shaped magnets to store information. The word core named each small ring and magnetic showed how a wire passed through the ring set or read 'one bit', so the rings became the machine's 'memory'.