Channels

Look up Channel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

In general, channel refers to the path between two endpoints. It can be used to mean specific types of channels, including:

• In communications, a channel is the route which a message follows, as it is transmitted between a communication source and a receiver.
• In computer science, a channel is the mechanism by which a message is sent between a communication source and receivers.
• In geography and nautical/shipping contexts, channel means the course traveled by a body of water or the passage of a ship between land masses.
• In digital imaging, a channel is the black and white representation of a specific color; by extension, the representation of a mask.
• In scattering theory, a scattering channel is a possible state of the colliding system before or after the collision.
• In biology, an ion channel is in a cell's plasma membrane which helps certain ions to enter/exit the cell.
• The phrase the channel can refer to the means of distribution of components involved in producing consumer electronics.
• The English Channel is the strip of sea between the United Kingdom and the Continent.
• A website type, introduced by Internet Explorer: See Active Channel.
• In parapsychology, to act as a medium through which disembodied spirits speak.

See also: List of pages that begin with channel