Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
905,960,403 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

heartbeat

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.

(1) A periodic signal generated by hardware for activation and/or synchronization purposes. See MHz.

(2) A periodic signal generated by hardware or software to indicate that it is still running.

1.(networking)heartbeat - The signal emitted by a Level 2 Ethernet transceiver at the end of every packet to show that the collision-detection circuit is still connected.
2.heartbeat - A periodic synchronisation signal used by software or hardware, such as a bus clock or a periodic interrupt.
3.heartbeat - The "natural" oscillation frequency of a computer's clock crystal, before frequency division down to the machine's clock rate.
4.heartbeat - A signal emitted at regular intervals by software to demonstrate that it is still alive. Sometimes hardware is designed to reboot the machine if it stops hearing a heartbeat. See also breath-of-life packet, watchdog.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
 Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
While it endures, the temperature falls, the respiration disappears, the heartbeat is indistinguishable--in fact, it IS death, save that it is evanescent.
The Poison Belt by Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan View in context
She lay back that white an' still she might easy be dead; but Miss Polly said she wa'n't dead--an' Miss Polly had oughter know, if any one would--she kept up such a listenin' an' a feelin' for her heartbeats an' her breath
Pollyanna by Porter, Eleanor H. View in context
He stopped beside her, feeling for her pulse and then listening for her heartbeats.
Tarzan of the Apes by Burroughs, Edgar Rice View in context
More results
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.