SCT

SCT is an acronym that may refer to several terms across different domains, including science, technology, and everyday usage. This article highlights some of the more common meanings in recent use.

In astronomy, SCT stands for Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a compact compound telescope that combines a Schmidt corrector plate with a Cassegrain-style mirror, enabling long focal lengths in a relatively short tube. It is popular among amateur astronomers, with common apertures ranging from about 3 to 14 inches, and is marketed by brands such as Celestron and Meade.

In psychology and education, SCT often refers to Social Cognitive Theory, developed by Albert Bandura. The theory emphasizes learning through observation, self-efficacy, and reciprocal determinism among personal factors, behavior, and environmental influences. It has been applied to education, health, and behavior change efforts.

In genetics and genomics, SCT can denote single-cell transcriptomics, a field focused on profiling gene expression at the level of individual cells. Techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing enable analysis of cellular heterogeneity. In practice, SCT also refers to SCTransform, a normalization method used in single-cell analysis workflows to stabilize variance and remove technical effects.

In retail technology, SCT may stand for self-checkout terminal, a point-of-sale interface that allows customers to scan and pay for items without traditional cashier assistance. The term reflects a growing use of automated checkout solutions in stores.