Latent 568329 206879694 2008-04-20T13:16:56Z Dlewis3 5800439 {{wiktionary|Latent}} '''''Latent''''' can mean "hidden", "presently inactive" or "potentially existing but not yet realized". In specific contexts, it can mean: * [[Latent heat]], the amount of energy released or absorbed by a substance during a change of phase * Latent [[geologic fault]] * Latent medical condition, a condition that is present but not active or causing symptoms. * Latent [[bud]], in some plants a bud that grows in favourable conditions but remains a bud until such conditions appear. * [[Virus latency]], the "quiet" or dormant stage of life of a virus, when it does little but maintain its genome, until favourable conditions for the lytic phase appear, when it starts to replicate. * Latent [[fingerprint]], the identifiable impression made by a finger, which is not immediately available (for example, because it is on a difficult surface such as [[skin]]) but can be made available ("developed") using some appropriate technique. * [[Latent Recordings]], a record label * [[Latent variable]] '''''Latency''''' can mean: * [[Latency (engineering)]], a time delay between the moment something is initiated and the moment its first effect begins. * [[Latency (audio)]], the time delay in digital audio systems due to analog to digital conversions, processing and conversion back to analog. * [[Memory latency]] and [[RAM latency]], the amount of time a computer needs to wait to get data from RAM. * [[Input lag]], the latency between using an input device and the result being displayed. * Communication [[lag]] or latency, the time taken for a packet of data to be sent by an application, travel and be received by another application. * [[Incubation period]], the time between exposure to a pathogenic organism, or chemical or radiation, and when symptoms and signs are first apparent. * [[Child sexuality#Middle_childhood|Latency in child sexuality]], a [[The_Latency_Phase_%286-12_years_of_age%29|psychoanalytic phase]], extending from roughly age 7 to 12, during which sexuality is repressed or sublimated (now more commonly called "middle childhood" and "prepubescence"). * [[Clinical latency]] * [[Dormancy]] An example of a virus that is Latent in many people for long periods of time is Mononucleosis. {{disambig}} [[da:Latent]] [[de:Latenz]] [[fr:Latence]] [[pl:Latencja]]