| discontinuous | 1. Not continuous; interrupted; broken off. "A path that is zigzag, discontinuous, and intersected at every turn by human negligence." (De Quincey) 2. Exhibiting a dissolution of continuity; gaping. "Discontinuous wound. <mathematics>" Discontinuous function, a function which for certain values or between certain values of the variable does not vary continuously as the variable increases. The discontinuity may, for example, consist of an abrupt change in the value of the function, or an abrupt change in its law of variation, or the function may become imaginary. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| discontinuous culture | A technique for production of microbes or microbial products in which the organisms are grown in a closed system until one nutrient factor becomes rate-limiting. (05 Mar 2000) |
| discontinuous phase | The particles contained in a colloid solution. Synonym: discontinuous phase, dispersed phase. (05 Mar 2000) |
| discontinuous sterilization | Exposure to a temperature of 100캜 (flowing steam) for a definite period, usually an hour, on each of several days; at each heating the developed bacteria are destroyed; spores, which are unaffected, germinate during the intervening periods and are subsequently destroyed. Synonym: discontinuous sterilization, intermittent sterilization, tyndallization. (05 Mar 2000) |