Discrete may refer to:
*Discrete particle or
quantum
In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizati ...
in physics, for example in quantum theory
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Discrete device
An electronic component is any basic discrete device or physical entity in an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not ...
, an electronic component with just one circuit element, either passive or active, other than an integrated circuit
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Discrete group, a group with the discrete topology
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Discrete category, category whose only arrows are
identity arrows
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Discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that can be considered "discrete" (in a way analogous to discrete variables, having a bijection with the set of natural numbers) rather than "continuous" (analogously to continuous f ...
, the study of structures without continuity
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Discrete optimization, a branch of optimization in applied mathematics and computer science
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Discrete probability distribution, a random variable that can be counted
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Discrete space
In topology, a discrete space is a particularly simple example of a topological space or similar structure, one in which the points form a , meaning they are '' isolated'' from each other in a certain sense. The discrete topology is the finest to ...
, a simple example of a topological space
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Discrete spline interpolation, the discrete analog of ordinary spline interpolation
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Discrete time
In mathematical dynamics, discrete time and continuous time are two alternative frameworks within which variables that evolve over time are modeled.
Discrete time
Discrete time views values of variables as occurring at distinct, separate "po ...
, non-continuous time, which results in discrete-time samples
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Discrete variable
In mathematics and statistics, a quantitative variable may be continuous or discrete if they are typically obtained by ''measuring'' or ''counting'', respectively. If it can take on two particular real values such that it can also take on all re ...
, non-continuous variable
*Discrete
pitch, a pitch with a steady frequency, rather than an indiscrete gliding, glissando or portamento, pitch
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