Compressioni

Compressioni is the Italian plural of compressione and is used across multiple disciplines to denote processes that reduce volume or size, typically by applying pressure, encoding techniques, or algorithms. In everyday and technical use, the term covers both physical changes to matter and computational techniques for data.

In physics and engineering, compression refers to the decrease in volume of a substance or region of space due to external forces, often with an increase in pressure and temperature. Common cases include gas compression in engines and compressors, isothermal and adiabatic processes, and the study of p-V-T relationships. In thermodynamics, a compression alters the state of matter according to equations of state; idealized models describe how pressure, volume, and temperature relate during the process. In mechanical systems, compressors raise the pressure of gases for storage, propulsion, or industrial use.

In information technology, data compression uses algorithms to reduce the number of bits required to represent data. Lossless methods (ZIP, PNG, FLAC) allow exact reconstruction, while lossy methods (JPEG, MP3, MPEG) discard information for higher compression. The choice depends on acceptable loss, computational cost, and fidelity requirements.

In media and communications, compression is essential for lowering bandwidth and storage needs, enabling streaming and efficient archiving. Key metrics include compression ratio and, for lossy methods, perceptual quality measures.