Cd

Cd, chemical symbol

Cd, symbol for the element cadmium.

---

CD, abbreviation for compact disc

CD: see compact disc.

---

certificate of deposit (CD)

Receipt from a bank acknowledging the deposit of a sum of money. The most common type, the time certificate of deposit, is for a fixed-term interest-bearing deposit in a large denomination. It consequently pays higher interest than a savings account, though the investor who withdraws money before its maturity date is subject to a penalty. Introduced in the early 1960s, CDs have become a popular method of saving.

---

compact disc (CD)

Molded plastic disc containing digital data that is scanned by a laser beam for the reproduction of recorded sound or other information. Since its commercial introduction in 1982, the audio CD has become the dominant format for high-fidelity recorded music. Digital audio data can be converted to analog form to reproduce the original audio signal (see digital-to-analog conversion). Coinvented by Philips Electronics and Sony Corp. in 1980, the compact disc has expanded beyond audio recordings into other storage-and-distribution uses, notably for computers (CD-ROM) and entertainment systems (videodisc and DVD). An audio CD can store just over an hour of music. A CD-ROM can contain up to 680 megabytes of computer data. A DVD, the same size as traditional CDs, is able to store up to 17 gigabytes of data, such as high-definition digital video files.

---

CD

(1) See also carrier detect and candela.

(2) (Compact Disc) An optical digital audio disc that contains up to 74 minutes of hi-fi stereo sound. Introduced in the U.S. in 1983, the disc is a plastic platter (120mm/4.75" diameter) recorded on one side, with individual tracks playable in any sequence. Its storage capacity is from 650MB to 700MB. Other forms of CDs, such as CD-ROM, CD-I and Video CD, all stem from the original Compact Disc-Digital Audio (CD-DA) format. CDs can be played in CD, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and most DVD drives. For more on how CDs are made, see CD-ROM.

Sound is converted into digital code by sampling the sound waves 44,056 times per second and converting each sample into a 16-bit number. It requires approximately 1.5 million bits of storage for each second of stereo sound. The audio tracks are recorded as microscopic pits in a groove that starts at the center of the disc and spirals outward to the edge.

A Note on Terminology
In the early 1990s when CD-ROMs first became popular, "CD" meant music, and "CD-ROM" meant data. Today, "CD" refers to both audio CDs and data CD-ROMs, which also include CD-R and CD-RW media. See CD-ROM.

The Books
Documentation for various CD formats are found in books commonly known by the color of their covers.

   Red Book    - CD-DA (Audio)
   Yellow Book - CD-ROM (Data)
   Orange Book - CD-R, CD-RW, Photo CD (Recordable)
   White Book  - VCD (Video)
   Blue Book   - CD Extra (Audio and data)
   Green Book  - CD-I (Interactive)

What Happened to the Phonograph?
The audio CD was introduced in the U.S. in 1983, and within five years, CDs and CD players exceeded the sales of LPs and turntables.

From Carved Sound to Pits
Unlike phonograph records, in which the platter is literally carved with sound waves, CDs are recorded in binary digits as microscopic pits covered by a clear, protective plastic layer. Instead of a needle vibrating in a groove, a laser shines onto the pits, and the reflections are decoded. Audio CDs, as well as all variations of the CD (CD-ROM, CD-R, etc.) use a spiral recording track like a phonograph record, but start at the center, not the edge. See analog audio.

Better Dynamic Range
Digital sound is cleaner than phonograph records because the numbers are turned into sound electronically. There are no needle pops and clicks and no tape hiss if the original recording was digital. In addition, the CD can handle a wider range of volume. A soft whisper can be interrupted by a loud cannon blast. If a phonograph record were recorded with that much "dynamic range," the needle would literally jump out of the groove.

Too Harsh for Critical Ears?
Pops and clicks aside, from the onset of audio CDs, many critics claimed digital sound was harsh and not as musical as the vinyl platter. DVD-Audio and SACD, two advanced digital formats with superior sound quality, came out in 1999, but neither one became popular (see DVD-Audio and SACD).

In the meantime, turntables and vinyl records are still manufactured, although in smaller quantities. This legacy industry is expected to persist for a while. See turntable, laser turntable and USB turntable.

---

Cd

(chemistry)

cadmium

---

CD

(optics)

circular dichroism

---

candela

The International Standard unit of luminous intensity; closely approximates the formerly accepted unit known as the “international candle.”

---

1.		CD - Compact Disc
2.	(operating system)	cd - change directory.
3.	(networking)	cd - The country code for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire, zr).