An anomaly is something that escapes the normal.
The Greek word anōmalia came to Latin as anomaly , and then to Spanish as anomaly . The notion refers to a divergence , an incompatibility , a discordance or a deviation from a norm or a practice.
For example: "The child suffers from a chromosomal anomaly that causes various disorders" , "The investigation did not detect any anomaly in the vehicle's mechanics" , "The anomaly in the results of the clinical analyzes worried the doctors" .
Anomaly in biology and physics
The idea of anomaly appears in different contexts. In the field of biology , we speak of a genetic anomaly when a pathology causes a modification of the genome. A chromosomal abnormality , on the other hand, is an alteration in the order or quantity of genes within the chromosomes.
In the field of physics , an anomaly describes a classical symmetry, such as a Lagrangian symmetry that is broken by quantum effects . A Lagrangian is a scalar function from which it is possible to obtain certain properties of a dynamical system, such as conservation laws and temporal evolution. Currently, it is the main operator to describe a physical system.
When talking about quantum effects , we refer to quantum mechanics , a part of physics that is responsible for describing nature in a fundamental way on a small spatial scale . Although the physical anomaly can be understood as a short-distance ultraviolet effect, which occurs because certain divergent integrals cannot be regularized in a way that all symmetries are preserved at the same time, there is also an infrared effect, since the The character of these divergences is determined by low-energy physics.
Astronomy recognizes different types of anomalies.
The term in astronomy
The concept also appears in astronomy , where it speaks of:
* eccentric anomaly : the angle measured from the center of the ellipse, and which serves to form the projection of the planet on the main circumference;
* mean anomaly : a portion of a period of the orbit, which is expressed in the form of an angle;
* true anomaly : the angle measured from the focus of the orbit and formed by the planet with the axis of the ellipse.
Social anomaly
A social anomaly , on the other hand, is a behavior or habit that circumvents the conventional rules of society .
It may be a permanent anomaly, which is sustained even if time progresses (like an addiction), or a periodic anomaly, which is interrupted over time (a revolution, a war).
The concept in colloquial and cultured language
In colloquial language , an anomaly is something that is strange or strange : "Upon entering the house, the old man did not notice any anomaly: however, his wife's murderer had returned there to cover his tracks . " "They were carried out without anomalies" , "It was an unprecedented tournament, with several anomalies: there were matches suspended due to incidents, athletes who refused to play due to lack of payment and some matches were played without an audience."
The term anomaly is part of a quite particular group, as far as its use is concerned, since it is not exclusive to cultured language, but it is not seen in any everyday conversation. We could say that it is more typical of technical fields, where certain professionals look for anomalies as part of their daily tasks to correct them before they cause major problems .
In computer programming , for example, it is common for the word anomaly to arise spontaneously in a talk, even if it is an everyday and informal exchange; Let's look at some example sentences: «And? Have you noticed any anomalies? , "I have looked at the drawing code and I have not seen any anomalies, so the problem must be related to memory management."