cat's whisker
Fine wire contact
A cat's whisker is a fine wire touching a crystal in early radio receivers, forming the point of contact that detected signals.
These crystal sets were common before vacuum tubes.
The phrase the cat's whiskers means something excellent or stylish—British slang from the 1920s, cousin to the bee's knees.
Sensory facial hairs
navigation · spatial · proprioception · follicle · hunting · nocturnal · balance · awareness
Small precise optimization adjustments
- adjustmentAlteration to improve fit
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
sensitivity · exactness · meticulousness · finesse · discrimination · nicety · subtlety · positioning
vibrissae
Sensory facial hairs
tactile · navigation · spatial · proprioception · follicle · hunting · nocturnal · balance · awareness · grooming
fine-tuning
Small precise optimization adjustments
- adjustmentAlteration to improve fit
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
delicacy · sensitivity · exactness · meticulousness · finesse · discrimination · nicety · subtlety · positioning · contact
crystal
Ordered-atom solid
tuner · wireless · semiconductor · circuit · galena · antenna · frequency · signal · broadcast · demodulation
cat's whiskerintegrated circuit
Miniaturized semiconductor electronics package