Compression may refer to:

In physical science:

• Physical compression, the result of the subjection of a material to compressive stress (the opposite of tension)
  • Compression member, a class of structural elements, of which a column is the most common specific example
  • Compressibility, the reciprocal of the bulk modulus (typically for solids)
• Gas compression, raising the pressure and reducing the volume of gases
  • Compression ratio, a number that predicts the performance of any internal-combustion engine
  • Compressibility, a measure of volume change resulting from pressure (typically for fluids)
• Compression (geology), a system of forces that tend to decrease the volume of or shorten rocks

In information science:

• Data compression, the process of encoding information using fewer bits
  • Image compression
  • Audio data compression
  • Video compression
    • Compression artifact, noticeable defects in audio or video that has been compressed
  • Bandwidth compression, in telecommunications
• Gain compression, in electronic amplifiers, a result of device non-linearity
• Audio level compression, usually artificially introduced gain compression to improve the perceived quality of audio

In other sciences and technologies:

• Compression, in zoology and paleontology, refers to when an animal, or part of an animal, is shorter or narrower compared with other animals in the same group; e.g. the body of a lizard may be compressed (flattened) so it can better fit into crevices under rocks
• Compression (functional analysis), in mathematics
• Compression bandage, designed to reduce the flow of blood

See also

• Compressor (disambiguation)
• compress, a UNIX program
• Compaction
• Decompression
• Expansion
• Compression shorts

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