aspect ratio

aspect ratio

[′a‚spekt ‚rā·shō]

(aerospace engineering)

The ratio of the square of the span of an airfoil to the total airfoil area, or the ratio of its span to its mean chord.

(design engineering)

The ratio of frame width to frame height in television; it is 4:3 in the United States and Britain.

In any rectangular configuration (such as the cross section of a rectangular duct), the ratio of the longer dimension to the shorter.

(mechanical engineering)

In an automotive vehicle, the ratio of the height of a tire to its width. Also known as tire profile.

(nucleonics)

The ratio of the plasma diameter of a toroidal controlled fusion device to the major diameter of the torus.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Aspect ratio

In any rectangular configuration, the ratio between the longer dimension and the shorter dimension.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

aspect ratio

1. In any rectangular configuration (such as the cross section of a rectangular duct), the ratio of the longer dimension to the shorter.

2. In a rectangular configuration, the ratio of the long-side to the short-side.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

aspect ratio

The ratio of span of the wing to its chord. It also may be expressed as the ratio of the square of the span of the wing to its area. Aspect ratio (A) = span²/wing area, span/chord, span × chord/chord², or wing area/chord².

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

aspect ratio

(graphics)

The ratio of width to height of a pixel, image, or display screen. Square pixels (1:1) are considered preferable but displays are usually about 5:4.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

aspect ratio

The aspect ratio states the comparison of width to height and is commonly used to describe the shape of a TV or computer screen. For example, the aspect ratio of an earlier standard-definition (SD) screen was 4:3, which is a relatively square rectangle. The 4:3 means "4 to 3," or four units wide to three units high. Today's TVs and monitors typically have a 16:9 ratio, which is a wide rectangle that is still not as wide as most movie theater (cinema) screens.

Another way of expressing the 4:3 and 16:9 ratios is 1.33:1 and 1.78:1; however, these latter designations are used mostly for cinema formats, rather than TV (see illustration below). See letterbox, screen resolution, HDTV display modes and anamorphic DVD.

The 2.39:1 Is Also 2.4:1

The anamorphic scope aspect ratio of 2.39:1 is commonly rounded up to 2.4:1.

Cinemascope on an iPhone

Moment created an anamorphic lens for an iPhone with a 2.4:1 aspect ratio in order to simulate a Cinemascope video on a smartphone. (Image courtesy of Moment, Inc., www.shopmoment.com)

The Letterbox Effect

Displaying a wide screen 16:9 image (right) on a standard-definition 4:3 TV (left) creates black bars on the top and bottom. Movies that retain their original, extra-wide cinema formats will create a letterbox even on today's wide screen TVs. (Image courtesy of Intergraph Computer Systems.)

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