rift

rift

¹

Geology a long narrow zone of faulting resulting from tensional stress in the earth's crust

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rift

² US

1. a shallow or rocky part in a stream

2. the backwash from a wave that has just broken

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

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 It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Rift

 

a major linear tectonic structure of the earth’s crust hundreds and thousands of kilometers long that forms when the crust is horizontally extended; this process usually occurs where there is a vast arching uplift. It is believed that the entire thickness or a significant part of the thickness of the earth’s crust is being extended.

A rift consists mainly of a series of fractures, among which faults with inclined surfaces predominate; the crustal sector lying above the surface of a fault is also dislocated downward. The sum of the horizontal components of all such shifts compensates for the horizontal extension of the crust. The dip of a fault is usually 60°-70°, and the vertical amplitude of the shift along a fault may reach 5 km. The crustal extension can be several kilometers, and in some cases, several tens of kilometers long.

Various types of grabens and horsts are found within a rift. The graben is the chief structural form. A rift usually begins to form, however, with a gentle upward bend of the crust in the form of a tectonic arch; the arch later breaks up and separates into grabens and horsts. Very large rifts are called rift zones or systems.

V. V. BELOUSOV

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

rift

[rift]

(geology)

A narrow opening in a rock caused by cracking or splitting.

A high, narrow passage in a cave.

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

rift

The direction in which stone splits most readily; characteristic of granite or other stone not having visible stratification or foliation.

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

Oculus

A family of head-mounted, virtual reality devices from Facebook Technologies, LLC. Invented by Palmer Luckey in 2012, Oculus VR launched one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns, receiving USD $2.4 million for a $250,000 goal. In 2014, Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook. Oculus goggles come in a tethered model for a Windows PC (Rift) and untethered (Go and Quest).

Rift and Rift S (Tethered to the PC)
The first Oculus Rift shipped in 2016. Praised by reviewers for its realism, developers have created applications not only for games but for military training, robotic vision as well as physical and psychological therapies, the latter, for example, helping PTSD victims confront battlefield memories.

In 2019, the Rift S superseded the original Rift model. Completely overhauled, the Rift S has greater resolution, and its array of cameras eliminated cables (USB port requirements dropped from four to one). On the S, the HDMI connection was changed to DisplayPort.

Go and Quest (Untethered)
In 2017, the company partnered with Qualcomm to develop the Android-based Oculus Go, which was the company's first stand-alone product. In addition to VR apps, after some configuration via the Oculus smartphone app, Android TV and many regular Android apps can also run in the display; however, there is no touchscreen equivalent in the goggles. See untethered.

In 2019, the Oculus Quest was the second-generation untethered display. The Quest added positional tracking, which enables six degrees of freedom (see 6DOF) like the Rift models. See Samsung Gear VR and virtual reality.

Oculus Rift and Touch

Using two Oculus Touch controllers, this gamer is immersed in a 3D game on the Rift. (Image courtesy of Oculus VR, LLC, www.oculus.com)

A Very Large Oculus

Meaning "eye" or "circular opening," the Oculus in New York is the V-shaped building in front of the World Trade Center. It is a transportation hub and multi-level shopping mall.

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Oculus Rift

A virtual reality technology from Oculus VR. Invented by Palmer Luckey in 2012 and available for all major desktop and mobile platforms, the company launched one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns to date, receiving $2.4 million for a USD $250,000 goal. In 2014, the company was acquired by Facebook.

Praised by reviewers for its realism, Rift software developers have created VR applications not only for games but for military training, robotic vision as well as physical and psychological therapies, the latter, for example, helping PTSD victims confront battlefield memories.

The Gear VRIs Oculus VR
In 2014, Samsung announced the Oculus-based Gear VR headset, which cabled initially to the Galaxy Note 4 smartphone. The Gear VR/Note 4 was the first VR headset/smartphone combo on the market. See Samsung Gear VR and virtual reality.

Oculus Rift and Touch

Using two Oculus Touch controllers, this gamer is immersed in a 3D game on the Rift. (Image courtesy of Oculus VR, LLC, www.oculus.com)

A Very Large Oculus

Meaning "eye" or "circular opening," the Oculus in New York is the transportation hub and multi-level shopping mall for the World Trade Center

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