track (redirected from data track)

track

(1) A single song or musical composition on a CD or as a download. See online music store.

(2) The metal interconnecting pathways on a chip that tie the transistors, resistors and capacitors together. There can be eight or more layers of tracks on a chip (integrated circuit). See MOSFET.

(2) The storage channel on a disk or tape. On magnetic disks (hard, floppy, Zip, etc.), tracks are concentric circles. CD and DVD tracks have one continuous, spiral-shaped channel starting near the center and moving outward. On magnetic tapes, tracks are parallel lines along the length of the tape. Helical scan tapes use diagonal lines (see helical scan).

On magnetic devices, bits are recorded as reversals of polarity in the magnetic surface. On optical media, the bits are recorded either as physical pits under a clear, protective layer or as changes in the reflectivity of the material. See magnetic disk and optical disc.

Tracks and Sectors

On disk, tracks are concentric circles. On tape, they are generally parallel with the length, although helical scan tracks run diagonal.

Track Width

The width of a track is wider than the bit length. At the beginning of the 21st century, the state-of-the-art was more than 30,000 tracks per inch (tpi).

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track

1. a rail or pair of parallel rails on which a vehicle, such as a locomotive, runs, esp the rails together with the sleepers, ballast, etc., on a railway

2. an endless jointed metal band driven by the wheels of a vehicle such as a tank or tractor to enable it to move across rough or muddy ground

3. Physics the path of a particle of ionizing radiation as observed in a cloud chamber, bubble chamber, or photographic emulsion

4. 

a. a course for running or racing

b. (as modifier): track events

5. US and Canadian

a. sports performed on a track

b. track and field events as a whole

6. a path on a magnetic recording medium, esp magnetic tape, on which information, such as music or speech, from a single input channel is recorded

7. any of a number of separate sections in the recording on a record, CD, or cassette

8. a metal path that makes the interconnections on an integrated circuit

9. the distance between the points of contact with the ground of a pair of wheels, such as the front wheels of a motor vehicle or the paired wheels of an aircraft undercarriage

10. a hypothetical trace made on the surface of the earth by a point directly below an aircraft in flight

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track [trak]

(aerospace engineering)

The actual line of movement of an aircraft or a rocket over the surface of the earth; it is the projection of the history of the flight path on the surface. Also known as flight track.

(computer science)

The recording path on a rotating surface.

(design engineering)

As applied to a pattern of setting diamonds in a bit crown, an arrangement of diamonds in concentric circular rows in the bit crown, with the diamonds in a specific row following in the track cut by a preceding diamond.

(electronics)

A path for recording one channel of information on a magnetic tape, drum, or other magnetic recording medium; the location of the track is determined by the recording equipment rather than by the medium.

The trace of a moving target on a plan-position-indicator radar screen or an equivalent plot.

(engineering)

The groove cut in a rock by a diamond inset in the crown of a bit.

A pair of parallel metal rails for a railway, railroad, tramway, or for any wheeled vehicle.

(mechanical engineering)

The slide or rack on which a diamond-drill swivel head can be moved to positions above and clear of the collar of a borehole.

A crawler mechanism for earth-moving equipment. Also known as crawler track.

(navigation)

To follow the movements of an object by keeping the reticle of an optical system or a radar beam on the object, by plotting its bearing and distance at frequent intervals, or by a combination of the two.

To navigate by following the movements of a craft without regard for future positions; this is used when frequent changes of an unanticipated amount are expected in course or speed or both.

A recommended route on a nautical chart, such as a North Atlantic Track.

(nucleonics)

The visible path of an ionizing particle in a particle detector, such as a cloud chamber, bubble chamber, spark chamber, or nuclear photographic emulsion.

race track

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(storage)

track - The part of a disk which passes under one read/write head while the head is stationary. The number of tracks on a disk surface therefore corresponds to the number of different radial positions of the head(s). The collection of all tracks on all surfaces at a given radial position is known a cylinder and each track is divided into sectors.