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==Etymology==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English&redirect=no#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] attenuat, from [[Latin]] attenuatus, past participle of attenuare to make thin, from ad- + tenuis thin —
*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Century 15th century]
==Definitions==
*1 : reduced especially in thickness, [[density]], or [[force]]
*2 : tapering gradually usually to a long slender point <attenuate leaves>
==Description==
In [[physics]], '''attenuation''' (in some [[contexts]] also called extinction) is the gradual loss in [[intensity]] of any kind of [[flow]] through a [[medium]]. For instance, sunlight is attenuated by dark glasses, X-rays are attenuated by lead, and [[light]] and [[sound]] are attenuated while passing through seawater.
In electrical engineering and telecommunications, attenuation affects the propagation of [[waves]] and [[signals]] in electrical [[circuits]], in optical fibers, as well as in air (radio waves).
[[Category: Physics]]
[[Category: General Reference]]
==Etymology==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English&redirect=no#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] attenuat, from [[Latin]] attenuatus, past participle of attenuare to make thin, from ad- + tenuis thin —
*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Century 15th century]
==Definitions==
*1 : reduced especially in thickness, [[density]], or [[force]]
*2 : tapering gradually usually to a long slender point <attenuate leaves>
==Description==
In [[physics]], '''attenuation''' (in some [[contexts]] also called extinction) is the gradual loss in [[intensity]] of any kind of [[flow]] through a [[medium]]. For instance, sunlight is attenuated by dark glasses, X-rays are attenuated by lead, and [[light]] and [[sound]] are attenuated while passing through seawater.
In electrical engineering and telecommunications, attenuation affects the propagation of [[waves]] and [[signals]] in electrical [[circuits]], in optical fibers, as well as in air (radio waves).
[[Category: Physics]]
[[Category: General Reference]]