conformal

English

Etymology

From conform +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)məl

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

conformal (comparative more conformal, superlative most conformal)

1. That conforms, especially to the shape of something.
   • 1993, S. Webb, The Physics of Three Dimensional Radiation Therapy: Conformal Radiotherapy, Radiosurgery and Treatment Planning, IOP Publishing, page 335:

     Some are realizable in practical computational times; others giving ‘more conformal’ 3D dose distributions take longer and some invoke technology which is not readily available, such as intensity-modulated fields.

   • 2007, Angus Rockett, The Materials Science of Semiconductors, Springer, page 573:

     CVD^{[Chemical Vapor Deposition]} is generally more conformal than physical vapor deposition, meaning that it covers a rough surface relatively uniformly, tracking the morphology rather than resulting in thin, low-quality coatings on vertical walls of the substrate, as is the case for physical vapor deposition methods.

   • 2011, Gregory J. Kubicek, Dwight E. Heron, “Optimizing Treatment Strategies in Recurrent Head and Neck Strategies”, in Dwight E. Heron, Roy B. Tishler, editors, Head and Neck Cancer, Demos Medical Publishing, page 256:

     One method for delivering high doses of radiation to a small area is by using more conformal types of radiotherapy.

2. (mathematics, of a transformation) That preserves angles between intersecting curves.
   • 1991 [Elsevier Science], Roland Schinzinger, Patricio A. A. Laura, Conformal Mapping: Methods and Applications, 2003, Dover, page 508,

     This would have been tantamount to a conformal transformation.

   • 1999, Malte Henkel, Conformal Invariance and Critical Phenomena, Springer, page 46:

     Let us find all conformal transformations in d dimensions.

   • 2004, Philip L. Bowers, Kenneth Stephenson, Uniformizing Dessins and Bely? Maps Via Circle Packing, American Mathematical Society, page 77:

     In regions of S where the packings become more deeply embedded in purely hexagonal generations during refinement, the local dilatation approaches 1 and the maps become progressively more conformal.

3. (cartography, of a map projection) That preserves relative angles over small scales, at all but a limited number of distinct points.

   On conformal map projections, the scale depends on location only and not direction.

Synonyms

• (cartography): anthropomorphic

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “mathematics”): disformal

Derived terms

• conformal anomaly
• conformal antenna
• conformal array
• conformal chart
• conformal coating
• conformal connection
• conformal equivalence
• conformal family
• conformal field theory
• conformal film
• conformal fuel tank
• conformal geometry
• conformal geometry
• conformal gravity
• conformality
• conformal Killing equation
• conformal latitude
• conformally
• conformal map
• conformal mapping
• conformal mapping
• conformal map projection
• conformal optics
• conformal optics
• conformal projection
• conformal reflection chart
• conformal representation
• conformal symmetry
• conformal tensor
• conformal time
• conformal transformation
• nonconformal
• pseudoconformal
• quasiconformal
• superconformal

 

Translations

that conforms (to a shape or form)

• German: konform (de)
• Persian: همدیس (hamdis)

mathematics: that preserves angles unchanged

• Esperanto: angulfidela
• Finnish: konforminen
• French: conforme (fr)
• German: winkeltreu
• Persian: همدیس (hamdis)
• Polish: konforemny m, wiernokątny m, równokątny m

cartography: that preserves angles over small scales, at all except a limited number of points

• Finnish: konforminen
• French: conforme (fr), orthomorphe
• German: winkeltreu
• Hungarian: (arány- és) szögtartó, konformis
• Persian: همدیس (hamdis)
• Polish: wiernokątny m

Further reading

• Conformal map projection on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Map projection on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Transformation (function) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia