Buffers

Buffer may refer to:

  • Buffer state, a country lying between two potentially hostile greater powers, thought to prevent conflict between them
  • Buffer zone, any area that keeps two or more other areas distant from one another, may be demilitarized
  • Buffer (rail transport), a device that cushions the impact of vehicles against each other
  • Buffer stop (bumper in U.S.), a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a section of track
  • Recoil buffer, an accessory for firearms, to cushion the impact of recoil
  • Buffer (navy), the colloquial term for the senior seaman sailor in a (British Commonwealth) Navy ship
  • Buffer wheel, a wheel attached to a motor similar to a pedestal grinder used to smooth and polish metals and other materials
  • Film loop, isolates intermittent motion in a movie projector
  • A related process for computers & TV receivers in which a film or video "freezes" while the material is loading up again. "Buffer" is often used as a verb here.

People:

  • Bruce Buffer, sports announcer
  • Michael Buffer, sports announcer

In physical science:

  • Buffer solution, a solution which reduces the change of pH upon addition of small amounts of acid or base, or upon dilution
  • Buffering agent, the weak acid or weak base in a buffer solution
  • Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas
  • Buffer (GIS), a zone around a map feature
  • Lysis buffer, in biochemistry, a destructor of cell membranes that enables analysis of the compounds within
  • Mineral redox buffer, a mineral assemblage which stabilises oxidation state in natural rock systems

In electronics and computer science:

  • Data buffer, memory used temporarily to store output or input data
    • Framebuffer, a particular type of data buffer for use in graphical display
  • Optical buffer, a device that stores optically transmitted data without converting it to the electrical domain
  • Buffer amplifier (also sometimes simply called a buffer), an isolating circuit used in electronics or telecommunications
  • Buffer (optical fiber), a component used to encapsulate one or more optical fibers in a fiber optic communication cable