Merge pull request #191 from datacarpentry/glossary

update glossary

Author: tobyhodges

reference.md

@@ -4,141 +4,147 @@ layout: reference
 
 ## Glossary
 
+(Some definitions are taken from [Glosario](https://glosario.carpentries.org).
+Follow the links from terms to see definitions in languages other than English.)
+
 {:auto_ids}
 
 adaptive thresholding
-:   
+:   thresholding that uses a cut-off value that varies for pixels in different regions of the image.
 
 
-additive color model
-:   a color model that predicts the appearance of colors by summing the numeric representations of the component colors
+additive colour model
+:   a colour model that predicts the appearance of colours by summing the numeric representations of the component colours.
 
 
 bacterial colony
-:   a visible cluster of bacteria growing on the surface of or within a solid medium, presumably cultured from a single cell
+:   a visible cluster of bacteria growing on the surface of or within a solid medium, presumably cultured from a single cell.
 
 
 binary image
-:   a digital image that has only two possible values for each pixel. Typically, the two colors used for a binary image are black and white.
+:   an image of pixels with only two possible values, 0 and 1. Typically, the two colours used for a binary image are black and white.
+
+
+[bit](https://glosario.carpentries.org/en/#bit)
+:   a unit of information representing alternatives, yes/no, true/false. In computing a state of either 0 or 1.
 
 
-Gaussian blur
-:   a widely used effect in graphics software, typically to reduce image noise and reduce detail
+blur
+:   the averaging of pixel intensities within a neighbourhood. This has the effect of "softening" the features of the image, reducing noise and finer detail.
 
 
 BMP (bitmap image file)
-:  a raster graphics image file format used to store bitmap digital images, independently of the display device 
+:   a raster graphics image file format used to store bitmap digital images, independently of the display device.
 
 
 bounding box
-:   the smallest enclosing box for a set of points
+:   the smallest enclosing box for a set of points.
 
 
-colorimetrics
-:   the science of describing human color perception
+[byte](https://glosario.carpentries.org/en/#byte)
+:   a unit of digital information that typically consists of eight binary digits, or bits.
 
 
-channel
-:  the grayscale representation of a primary color in a digital image 
+colorimetrics
+:   the processing and analysis of objects based on their colour.
 
 
-contour
-:   
+compression
+:   a class of data encoding methods that aims to reduce the size of a file while retaining some or all of the information it contains.
 
 
-child (in contours)
-:   
+channel
+:   a set of pixel intensities within an image that were measured in the same way e.g. at a given wavelength.
 
 
 crop
-:  the removal of unwanted outer areas from an image 
+:   the removal of unwanted outer areas from an image.
 
 
-color histogram
-:  a representation of the number of pixels that have colors in each of a fixed list of color ranges
+colour histogram
+:   a representation of the number of pixels that have colours in each of a fixed list of colour ranges.
 
 
 edge detection
-:   a variety of mathematical methods that aim at identifying points in a digital image at which the image brightness changes sharply 
+:   a variety of methods that attempt to automatically identify the boundaries of objects within an image.
 
 
 fixed-level thresholding
-:   picking a constant cut-off value to distinguish between pixels considered "on" and "off"
+:   thresholding that uses a single, constant cut-off value for every pixel in the image.
 
 
 grayscale
-:   an image in which the value of each pixel is a single value representing only the amount of light (or intensity) of that pixel
+:   an image in which the value of each pixel is a single value representing only the amount of light (or intensity) of that pixel.
+
+
+[histogram](https://glosario.carpentries.org/en/#histogram)
+:   a graphical representation of the distribution of a set of numeric data, usually a vertical bar graph.
 
 
 image segmentation
-:   the process of partitioning a digital image into multiple segments to make the image more meaningful and easier to analyze
+:   the process of dividing an image into multiple sections, to be processed or analysed independently.
 
 
 intensity
-:   value corresponding to amount of light in a pixel
+:   the value measured at a given pixel in the image.
 
 
 JPEG
-:  a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography 
+:   a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography
 
 
 kernel
-:   [a small matrix. It is used for blurring, sharpening, embossing, edge detection, and more](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_(image_processing))
+:   a matrix, usually relatively small, defining a neighbourhood of pixel intensities that will be considered during blurring, edge detection, and other operations.
 
 
 left-hand coordinate system
-:   
+:   a system of coordinates where the origin is at the top-left extreme of the image, and coordinates increase as you move down the y axis.
 
 
 lossy compression
-:   a class of data encoding methods that uses inexact approximations and partial data discarding to represent the content
+:   a class of data compression methods that uses inexact approximations and partial data discarding to represent the content.
 
 
 lossless compression
-:  a class of data compression algorithms that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data 
+:   a class of data compression methods that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data.
 
 
 maize
-:   also known as corn
+:   a common crop plant grown in many regions of the world. Also known as corn.
 
 
 mask
-:   applied to digital images to "cut-out" the background or other unwanted features
+:   a binary matrix, usually of the same dimensions as the target image, representing which pixels should be included and excluded in further processing and analysis.
 
 
 morphometrics
-:   the quantitative analysis of form, a concept that encompasses size and shape
+:   the processing and analysis of objects based on their size and shape.
 
 
 noise
-:   random variation of brightness or color information in images. An undesirable by-product of image capture that obscures the desired information.
+:   random variation of brightness or colour information in images. An undesirable by-product of image capture that obscures the desired information.
 
 
-parent (in contours)
-:   
+pixel
+:   the individual units of intensity that make up an image.
 
 
-raster graphics
-:   a dot matrix data structure that represents a generally rectangular grid of pixels
+[raster graphics](https://glosario.carpentries.org/en/#raster_image)
+:   images stored as a matrix of pixels.
 
 
-RGB color model
-:   an additive color model in which red, green and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additive primary colors, red, green, and blue.
-
-
-root (in contours)
-:   
+RGB colour model
+:   an additive colour model describing colour in a image with a combination of pixel intensities in three channels: red, green, and blue.
 
 
 thresholding
-:   the simplest method of image segmentation. From a grayscale image, thresholding can be used to create binary images
+:   the process of creating a binary version of a grayscale image, based on whether pixel values fall above or below a given limit or cut-off value.
 
 
 TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
-:   a computer file format for storing raster graphics images; also 
+:   a computer file format for storing raster graphics images; also
     abbreviated TIF
 
 
 titration
-:  a common laboratory method of quantitative chemical analysis to determine the concentration of an identified analyte (a substance to be analyzed) 
-
+:  a common laboratory method of quantitative chemical analysis to determine the concentration of an identified analyte (a substance to be analyzed)