All articles starting with L

Linear matrix inequality

A linear matrix inequality (LMI) is a convex constraint requiring an affine matrix expression to be positive definite, central to control theory since Lyapunov's 1890 stability criterion.

Linear model

A linear model is a statistical model that expresses a response variable as a linear combination of predictors with unknown coefficients, written Y = Xβ + ε and fitted by least squares.

Linear momentum

Linear momentum is the vector quantity p = mv, the product of mass and velocity, whose rate of change equals the applied force in Newton's second law.

Oct 21, 2026

Linear morphoea (linear scleroderma, ICD-11 EB61.1; en coup de sabre on the scalp) is a usually unilateral, childhood-onset band of skin fibrosis following Blaschko lines, with joint and neurologic complications in about 38% and systemic immunosuppressive treatment.

Linear motion

Linear motion, also called rectilinear motion, is motion along a single straight line, such as a car on a straight road or a falling ball, studied in kinematics.

Linear motion guide carriage

The linear motion guide carriage, also called an LM block, is the moving block of a linear guide, riding a profiled rail on recirculating balls while carrying loads.

Linear motor

A linear motor, also called a linear electric motor, is an electric motor producing thrust in a straight line directly, used in precision stages and maglev trains.

Oct 21, 2026

Linear nevus sebaceus syndrome

Linear nevus sebaceus syndrome, also called Schimmelpenning-Feuerstein-Mims, Schimmelpenning, or Solomon syndrome, is a rare disorder combining a congenital nevus sebaceus with eye, skeletal, and CNS abnormalities.

Linear no-threshold model

The linear no-threshold (LNT) model assumes any dose of ionizing radiation above zero proportionally increases cancer risk, underpinning radiation safety rules and the ALARA principle.

Linear optical quantum computing

Linear optical quantum computing is a model of quantum computation in which quantum information is carried by light and processed with beam splitters, phase shifters, and photon detectors.

Linear parameter-varying model

A linear parameter-varying (LPV) model is a linear state-space model whose matrices vary with a measured scheduling signal, used to design gain-scheduled controllers with stability guarantees.

Linear particle accelerator

A linear particle accelerator, or linac, is a machine that speeds charged particles along a straight path, used in radiotherapy and as injectors for larger machines.

Linear pendant

A linear pendant is a long, horizontally elongated light fixture suspended from the ceiling by cables or stems, hung parallel to kitchen islands, dining tables, or bars.

Linear Pluggable Optics

Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) is an optical transceiver architecture for short-reach data center links in which the pluggable module contains no DSP, reducing power, cost, and latency in AI clusters.

Linear polarization

Linear polarization is the electromagnetic-wave state in which the electric field oscillates along a single fixed line, produced by reflection at Brewster's angle, scattering, and polarizing filters.

Linear polarization resistance

Linear polarization resistance is an electrochemical technique that measures a metal's instantaneous corrosion rate from its current response to a small potential, widely used on rebar in concrete.

Linear positioning stage

A linear positioning stage is a precision mechanical device that moves a load along a single straight axis, using a guided carriage, a screw or motor drive, and position feedback.

Linear potential

In quantum mechanics, a linear potential, V(x) = Cx, subjects a particle to a constant force. It is exactly solvable, with Airy-function solutions used at turning points.

Linear Pottery culture

Linear Pottery culture (Linearbandkeramik, LBK), Early Neolithic farming culture of central Europe, c. 5650–4900 BC, known for incised linear pottery, longhouses on loess soils, and rapid spread from the middle Danube.

Linear prediction

Linear prediction is a signal-processing method that estimates a signal's next sample from a weighted combination of past samples, and is the dominant technique for modeling speech spectra.

Linear predictive coding

Linear predictive coding (LPC) is a signal processing method that compresses speech by predicting each sample from earlier samples and transmitting only the coefficients and a small residual.

Linear probing

Linear probing is a collision-resolution scheme for open-addressing hash tables that places a colliding key in the next free slot; introduced in 1954, it remains among the fastest hash tables in practice.

Linear programming

Linear programming, also called linear optimization, is a method for optimizing a linear objective function subject to linear constraints, formulated by George Dantzig in 1947.

Linear programming relaxation

A linear programming relaxation is the linear program obtained by deleting an integer program's integrality constraints; its optimum bounds the integer optimum and supports rounding, branch-and-bound, and cutting planes.

Linear quadratic Gaussian control

Linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control is an optimal control method that combines the linear quadratic regulator with a Kalman filter to control linear systems affected by Gaussian noise.

Linear quadrupole ion trap

The linear quadrupole ion trap (LIT) is a mass spectrometry device that stores ions along a linear quadrupole axis, offering higher ion capacity and sensitivity than the 3D ion trap.

Linear receive optics

Linear Receive Optics (LRO), also called half-retimed optics or HALO, is a transceiver architecture for high-speed data center links that keeps a DSP on the transmit path only.

Linear regression

Linear regression, covering multiple linear regression, models a response variable as a linear function of one or more explanatory variables, most commonly estimated by the method of least squares.

Linear response function

The linear response function describes how a system's observable changes to first order under a small external perturbation, expressed as the susceptibility and given in quantum mechanics by the Kubo formula.