Virtual
Encyclopedia
The term virtual is a concept applied in many fields with somewhat differing connotations, and also, differing denotations.
The term has been defined in philosophy as "that which is not real" but may display the salient qualities of the real.
Colloquially, virtual is used to mean almost, particularly when used in the adverbial form e.g. "That's virtually [almost] impossible".
By extension to the original philosophical definition, the term virtual has also come to mean "modeling through the use of a computer," where the computer models a physical equivalent. Thus, a virtual world
models the real world with 3D structures and virtual reality
seeks to model reality, enhancing a virtual world with mechanisms for eye and hand movements. The word 'virtual' now modifies numerous nouns for real world concepts: virtual appliance
, virtual museum
, virtual learning environment (VLE), virtual studio
, and so on.
The use of the word virtual for computer simulation of reality is not recent. The Online Etymology Dictionary reports that the sense of "not physically existing but made to appear by software" appears as early as 1959.
Virtual may refer to:
The term has been defined in philosophy as "that which is not real" but may display the salient qualities of the real.
Colloquially, virtual is used to mean almost, particularly when used in the adverbial form e.g. "That's virtually [almost] impossible".
By extension to the original philosophical definition, the term virtual has also come to mean "modeling through the use of a computer," where the computer models a physical equivalent. Thus, a virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
models the real world with 3D structures and virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
seeks to model reality, enhancing a virtual world with mechanisms for eye and hand movements. The word 'virtual' now modifies numerous nouns for real world concepts: virtual appliance
Virtual appliance
A virtual appliance is a virtual machine image designed to run on a virtualization platform ....
, virtual museum
Virtual museum
A virtual museum is a museum that exists only online. A virtual museum is also known as an online museum, electronic museum, hypermuseum, digital museum, cybermuseum or Web museum...
, virtual learning environment (VLE), virtual studio
Virtual studio
The term virtual studio can refer to any number of technological tools which seek to simulate a physical television and/or movie studio. One such use of the term follows....
, and so on.
The use of the word virtual for computer simulation of reality is not recent. The Online Etymology Dictionary reports that the sense of "not physically existing but made to appear by software" appears as early as 1959.
Virtual may refer to:
Computing
- Virtual (computing)Virtual (computing)The word virtual has been applied to computing and information technology with various meanings.It is used of software systems that act as if they were hardware systems , of computer-generated simulations of reality , and of internet gaming environments wherein entire worlds are created or the...
- Virtual airlineVirtual airlineA virtual airline is a dedicated hobby organization that uses flight simulation to model the operations of an airline. Virtual airlines generally have a presence on the Internet, similar to a real airline...
- Virtual applianceVirtual applianceA virtual appliance is a virtual machine image designed to run on a virtualization platform ....
- Virtual communityVirtual communityA virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals...
Education and business
- Virtual businessVirtual businessA virtual business employs electronic means to transact business as opposed to a traditional brick and mortar business that relies on face-to-face transactions with physical documents and physical currency or credit.-History:...
- Virtual economyVirtual economyA virtual economy is an emergent economy existing in a virtual persistent world, usually exchanging virtual goods in the context of an Internet game...
- Virtual educationVirtual educationVirtual education refers to instruction in a learning environment where teacher and student are separated by time or space, or both, and the teacher provides course content through the use of methods such as course management applications, multimedia resources, the internet, and videoconferencing...
- Virtual learning environmentVirtual learning environmentDefined largely by usage, the term virtual learning environment has most, if not all, of the following salient properties:* It is Web-based* It uses Web 2.0 tools for rich 2-way interaction* It includes a content management system...
- Virtual museumVirtual museumA virtual museum is a museum that exists only online. A virtual museum is also known as an online museum, electronic museum, hypermuseum, digital museum, cybermuseum or Web museum...
- Virtual schoolVirtual schoolA virtual school or cyberschool describes an institution that teaches courses entirely or primarily through online methods. Though there are tens of thousands of commercial and non-accredited courses available online, the term "virtual school" is generally reserved for accredited schools that teach...
- Virtual teamVirtual teamA virtual team is a group of individuals who work across time, space and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology...
- Virtual tradeshowVirtual tradeshowA virtual tradeshow is a type of virtual event run in an online environment, that goes live and stays live online for a limited period of time...
- Virtual universityVirtual universityA virtual university provides higher education programs through electronic media, typically the Internet. Some are bricks-and-mortar institutions that provide online learning as part of their extended university courses while others solely offer online courses. They are regarded as a form of...
- Virtual waterVirtual waterVirtual water refers, in the context of trade, to the water used in the production of a good or service. For instance, it takes 1,300 cubic meters of water on average to produce one metric tonne of wheat. The precise volume can be more or less depending on climatic conditions and agricultural...
- Virtual workplace
Entertainment and recreation
- Virtual actorVirtual actorA virtual human or digital clone is the creation or re-creation of a human being in image and voice using computer-generated imagery and sound...
- Virtual artVirtual artVirtual art is art practice using virtual reality, augmented reality or mixed reality as a medium in a digital environment..-Form:It can be considered a post-convergent art form, containing all previous media as subsets...
- Virtual bandVirtual bandIn music, a virtual band is any group whose members are not corporeal musicians, but animated characters...
- Virtual sexVirtual sexVirtual sex is a sexual act where two or more people gather together via some form of communications equipment to arouse each other by transmitting sexually explicit messages...
- Virtual studioVirtual studioThe term virtual studio can refer to any number of technological tools which seek to simulate a physical television and/or movie studio. One such use of the term follows....
Mathematics, physics, and medicine
- Virtual colonoscopyVirtual colonoscopyVirtual colonoscopy is a medical imaging procedure which uses x-rays and computers to produce two- and three-dimensional images of the colon from the lowest part, the rectum, all the way to the lower end of the small intestine and display them on a screen...
- Virtual displacement
- Virtual imageVirtual imageIn optics, a virtual image is an image in which the outgoing rays from a point on the object always diverge. It will appear to converge in or behind the optical device . A simple example is a flat mirror where the image of oneself is perceived at twice the distance from oneself to the mirror...
- Virtual particleVirtual particleIn physics, a virtual particle is a particle that exists for a limited time and space. The energy and momentum of a virtual particle are uncertain according to the uncertainty principle...
- Virtual patientVirtual patientThe term virtual patient is used to describe interactive computer simulations used in health care education. The special focus is targeted on the simulation of clinical processes with virtual patients. Virtual patients combine scientific excellence, modern technologies and the innovative concept of...
- Virtual screeningVirtual screeningVirtual screening is a computational technique used in drug discovery research. By using computers, it deals with the quick search of large libraries of chemical structures in order to identify those structures which are most likely to bind to a drug target, typically a protein receptor or...
- Virtual surgeryVirtual surgeryVirtual surgery refers to a virtual reality simulation of surgical procedures.Such simulations are used to practice often dangerous surgical procedures without the need for an actual patient...
- Virtual workVirtual workVirtual work arises in the application of the principle of least action to the study of forces and movement of a mechanical system. Historically, virtual work and the associated calculus of variations were formulated to analyze systems of rigid bodies, but they have also been developed for the...
Telecommunications and electronics
- Virtual channelVirtual channelIn telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
- Virtual circuitVirtual circuitIn telecommunications and computer networks, a virtual circuit , synonymous with virtual connection and virtual channel, is a connection oriented communication service that is delivered by means of packet mode communication...
- Virtual groundVirtual groundVirtual ground is a node of the circuit that is maintained at a steady reference potential, without being connected directly to the reference potential...
- Virtual queueVirtual queueVirtual queuing is a concept used in inbound call centers. Call centers use an Automatic Call Distributor to distribute incoming calls to specific resources in the center. ACDs hold queued calls in First In, First Out order until agents become available...
- Virtual touch screenVirtual Touch ScreenA virtual touch screen is a user interface system that displays images in thin air. The screen uses a rear projector system to create images that look three dimensional and appear to float in midair. The images are interacted with your hands and no specialized equipment is needed....
See also
- Virtuality (disambiguation)Virtuality (disambiguation)Virtuality may refer to:* Virtual reality: an artificial environment, or the technology creating or accessing same, which is experienced through sensory stimuli provided by a computer and in which a user partially determines outcomes....
- VirtualizationVirtualizationVirtualization, in computing, is the creation of a virtual version of something, such as a hardware platform, operating system, a storage device or network resources....
- VirtuallyVirtuallyIn mathematics, especially in the area of abstract algebra which studies infinite groups, the adverb virtually is used to modify a property so that it need only hold for a subgroup of finite index...
, used to modify a property in abstract algebra so that it need only hold for a subgroup of finite index