Quality assuranceQuality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to assure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design, reliability, and maintainability expectations of that customer. The core purpose of Quality Assurance is to prevent mistakes and defects in the development and production of both manufactured products, such as automobiles and shoes, and delivered services, such as automotive repair and athletic shoe design.
Specific strengthThe specific strength is a material's (or muscle's) strength (force per unit area at failure) divided by its density. It is also known as the strength-to-weight ratio or strength/weight ratio or strength-to-mass ratio. In fiber or textile applications, tenacity is the usual measure of specific strength. The SI unit for specific strength is Pa⋅m3/kg, or N⋅m/kg, which is dimensionally equivalent to m2/s2, though the latter form is rarely used.
Permutation matrixIn mathematics, particularly in matrix theory, a permutation matrix is a square binary matrix that has exactly one entry of 1 in each row and each column and 0s elsewhere. Each such matrix, say P, represents a permutation of m elements and, when used to multiply another matrix, say A, results in permuting the rows (when pre-multiplying, to form PA) or columns (when post-multiplying, to form AP) of the matrix A.
Matrix similarityIn linear algebra, two n-by-n matrices A and B are called similar if there exists an invertible n-by-n matrix P such that Similar matrices represent the same linear map under two (possibly) different bases, with P being the change of basis matrix. A transformation A ↦ P−1AP is called a similarity transformation or conjugation of the matrix A. In the general linear group, similarity is therefore the same as conjugacy, and similar matrices are also called conjugate; however, in a given subgroup H of the general linear group, the notion of conjugacy may be more restrictive than similarity, since it requires that P be chosen to lie in H.
Hurwitz's theorem (composition algebras)In mathematics, Hurwitz's theorem is a theorem of Adolf Hurwitz (1859–1919), published posthumously in 1923, solving the Hurwitz problem for finite-dimensional unital real non-associative algebras endowed with a positive-definite quadratic form. The theorem states that if the quadratic form defines a homomorphism into the positive real numbers on the non-zero part of the algebra, then the algebra must be isomorphic to the real numbers, the complex numbers, the quaternions, or the octonions.
Tesla (unit)The tesla (symbol: T) is the unit of magnetic flux density (also called magnetic B-field strength) in the International System of Units (SI). One tesla is equal to one weber per square metre. The unit was announced during the General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960 and is named in honour of Serbian-American electrical and mechanical engineer Nikola Tesla, upon the proposal of the Slovenian electrical engineer France Avčin.
