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deviation |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
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deviation [‚dēv·ē′ā·shən] (engineering) The difference between the actual value of a controlled variable and the desired value corresponding to the set point. (evolution) Evolutionary differentiation involving interpolation of new stages in the ancestral pattern of morphogenesis. (optics) The angle between the incident ray on an object or optical system and the emergent ray, following reflection, refraction, or diffraction. Also known as angle of deviation. (petroleum engineering) During a drilling operation, the inclination of the borehole from the vertical. (statistics) The difference between any given number in a set and the mean average of those numbers. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Variation and deviation are used in setting courses and estimating dead reckoning. But, inasmuch as it is equally necessary to take into account the deviation which the rotary motion of the earth will impart to the shot, and as the shot cannot reach the moon until after a deviation equal to 16 radii of the earth, which, calculated upon the moon's orbit, are equal to about eleven degrees, it becomes necessary to add these eleven degrees to those which express the retardation of the moon just mentioned: that is to say, in round numbers, about sixty-four degrees. Do not blame him, however, for departing from his character, where the deviation is necessary. |
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