zone

zone

zone [Gr.,=girdle], in geography, area with a certain physical and/or cultural unity that distinguishes it from other areas. The division of the earth into five climatic zones probably originated (5th cent. B.C.) with Parmenides, who recognized a torrid zone (see tropics) and north and south temperate zones and postulated north and south frigid (or arctic) zones; his classification was adopted by Aristotle and is still in use. The zones are based on latitude: the torrid zone lies between 231-2°N and 231-2°S, the temperate zones between these parallels and the polar circles (661-2° N and S), and the frigid zones from the polar circles to the poles. Later geographers, recognizing that climate is affected by such conditions as altitude, distance from water, prevailing winds, and ocean currents, have used other bases for zoning. Most geographers today recognize five major climatic groups, based mainly on the work of the German meteorologist Wladimir Köppen. Two of these groups—the rainy tropics and the dry tropics, which encompass four different climates—together correspond roughly to the former torrid zone. Two humid climate groups of the Köppen system, encompassing six climates, together correspond roughly to the former temperate zones. Köppen's two polar climates correspond roughly to the two former frigid zones. In addition to the five groups encompassing twelve climates, geographers also recognize a series of highland zones where many of the other climates of the world are duplicated. Geographic zones in which people have similar patterns of life are called culture zones or areas (see culture). An example would be the plains area of North America.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2022, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Zone

A number of adjacent floors that are served by the same elevators; also applies to spaces that have different requirements for heating or cooling. Also, a space or group of spaces in a building having similar heating and cooling requirements throughout its occupied area, so that comfort conditions may be controlled by a single temperature sensor with corresponding controller.

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

zone

any area, especially within a town or city, possessing particular functions or characteristics. The occurrence of zones may be planned as well as unplanned (e.g. the zoning of school attendance, planning restrictions on industrial or commercial development). See also ZONE OF TRANSITION, URBAN ECOLOGY.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Zone

 

in music, the region within which the physical, quantitative characteristics of a tone (frequency of vibration, structure, intensity, and length) may change without there being, from the listening point of view, changes in the qualities of the given tone. In particular, to each step of the music scale (C, C sharp, D, and so on) there corresponds not one frequency, as in a mathematically expressed pitch, but a whole range or region of closely located frequencies. For example, the tone A of the first octave can have not only 440 vibrations per second, but any number within a range of approximately 435 to 445. These regions of frequencies are called tonal-pitch zones.

The theory of the zonal nature of tonal-pitch hearing has made possible new ways of studying the interpretations given to musical compositions by vocalists and musicians who play instruments (the violin and related stringed instruments) that permit freedom of intoning. There are also zones in tempo, rhythm, timbre, and dynamics. N. A. Garbuzov, the Soviet specialist in music acoustics, developed the theory of zones in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

REFERENCES

Garbuzov, N. A.Zonnaia priroda zvukovysotnogo slukha. Moscow-Leningrad, 1948.
Garbuzov, N. A.Zonnaia priroda tempo i ritma. Moscow, 1950.
Garbuzov, N.A. Zonnaia priroda dinamicheskogo slukha. Moscow, 1955.
Garbuzov, N. A.Zonnaia priroda tembrovogo slukha. Moscow, 1956.

IU. N. RAGS

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

What does it mean when you dream about a zone?

To experience being in a zone may relate to a war zone or a demilitarized zone. A place or an area with designated boundaries and points of protection. This dream could indicate one is involved in too much daily activity and needs to find a neutral place to recover a sense of physical or emotional equilibrium.

The Dream Encyclopedia, Second Edition © 2009 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.

zone

[zōn]

(analytical chemistry)

band

(computer science)

One of the top three rows of a punched card, namely, the 11, 12, and zero rows.

storage area

(crystallography)

A set of crystal faces which intersect (or would intersect, if extended) along edges which are all parallel.

(geography)

An area or region of latitudinal character.

(geology)

A belt, layer, band, or strip of earth material such as rock or soil.

(mathematics)

The portion of a sphere lying between two parallel planes that intersect the sphere.

(mechanical engineering)

In a heating or air-conditioning system, one or more spaces whose temperature is regulated by a single control.

A subdivision of a sprinkler, water-supply, or standpipe system.

(ordnance)

Any tactical area of importance, generally parallel to the front, such as a fortified area, a defensive position, a combat zone, or a traffic-control zone.

An area in which projectiles will fall when a given propelling charge is used and the elevation is varied between the minimum and the maximum; in practice, generally limited to howitzer and mortar firings.

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

zone

1. In an air-conditioning or heating system, a space (or group of spaces), served by the system, whose temperature (or humidity) is regulated by a single control.

2. A vertical or horizontal subdivision of a water supply system, sprinkler system, or standpipe system.

3.See pressure zone.

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

zone

1. an area subject to a particular political, military, or government function, use, or jurisdiction

2. Geography one of the divisions of the earth's surface, esp divided into latitudinal belts according to temperature

3. Geology a distinctive layer or region of rock, characterized by particular fossils (zone fossils), metamorphism, structural deformity, etc.

4. Ecology an area, esp a belt of land, having a particular flora and fauna determined by the prevailing environmental conditions

5. Maths a portion of a sphere between two parallel planes intersecting the sphere

6. NZ a section on a transport route; fare stage

7. NZ a catchment area for pupils for a specific school

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

zone

A logical group of network devices on AppleTalk.

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

zone

(1) An administrative unit defined in a DNS server. It may refer to a single domain name or a subdomain. See zone file, DNS records and DNS.

(2) A logical subnet in a Fibre Channel SAN network. Zones tie together groups of servers and storage devices for daily processing, but can be dynamically changed as required. For example, in order to enable periodic backups to storage devices outside the individual zones, the zones can be widened on the fly to reach them. See Fibre Channel.

(3) The term can be used for any subdivision of hardware and/or software.

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