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A matrix (plural matrices) is something that provides support or structure, especially in the
sense of surrounding and/or shaping. It comes from the Latin word for "womb", which
itself derived from the Latin word for "mother", which is mater. Various disciplines use the term "matrix" with
differing meanings.
Biology
In biology, the word matrix is used for the material between
animal or plant cells, or generally the material (or "tissue") in
which more specialized structures are embedded, and also specifically for one part of the mitochondrion. The internal structure of connective tissues is a extracellular
matrix.
- The term is also used for the "medium" in which bacteria are grown (or "cultured"), so a Petri dish of agar may be the matrix for culturing a sample swabbed from
someone's sore throat.
Geology
In geology, if a rock consists of larger grains embedded in a material consisting
of smaller ones, this surrounding material (or "substrate") is termed matrix. For example, in Africa diamonds
are often mined from a matrix of clay-like rock called "yellow ground."
Archeology
In archaeology, the matrix is the sediment surrounding
and including the artifacts, features, and other materials at an archaeological site.
Printing
In the kind of printing which involves setting type, a matrix
(often called a "mat") is a mold for shaping the letters -- the mats of all the letters to go on one page are assembled, and then
hot metal is poured into that matrix to make the plate to go into the printing press to print the page.
- The U.S. Congress, in enacting the Federal Rules of
Evidence, used the term in that sense to define a "duplicate" of a document that can be used as evidence at trial in place
of the original:
-
- "A 'duplicate' is a counterpart produced by the same impression as the original, or from the same matrix." (Rule
1001(4))
Sound recording
In sound recording, a matrix can refer to a disc
in the early stages of processing a record for mass production; see mastering and pressing process discussion at Analogue disc record. Matrix can also refer to the
encoding of several channels of audio into fewer channels to be decoded back into several channels later.
Music
In music matrices are used in the visualization of all permutations
or forms of a tone row or set in music written
using the twelve tone technique or serialism. See also: musical set theory, equal
temperament
Mathematics
In mathematics, a matrix is a rectangular table of data. A matrix with m rows and n columns
is said to be an m-by-n matrix. For example,
-
is a 4-by-3 matrix.
Matrices in the mathematical sense are useful to record data that depend on two categories, such as the sales in three
branches of a store in each of the four quarters of a year, or to keep track of the coefficients of linear expressions such as
linear transformations and systems of linear equations. The field of mathematics
that studies matrices is called matrix theory, a branch
of linear algebra.
Closely related terms from computing are "two-dimensional array" and "spreadsheet". We can do addition, multiplication and many different operations on
matrices. To learn more, see Matrix (mathematics).
Movie
The Matrix is a 1999 film.
Acronym
Matrix (also MATRIX) is the Multistate
Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange.
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