TLAs from LAA through LZZ

LAN

Local Area Network
A network with a local nature. The term LAN is usually used in conjunction with networks that are local to one building or organisation. See also WAN.

LCD

Liquid Crystal Display
The magic of the seventies when the digital watches became available. It is a liquid crystal that changed polarization when an electric field is applied to the crystal and returns to normal when the electric field is removed. A light/dark switch can be obtained with a few additional polarisers. If you always wanted a watch with black background and white numbers, then open your watch (at your own risk), turn the polarisers 90 dergrees and put the thing back together. Wonder, wonder, miracle, miracle, the black is white and the white is black. Nowadays, full color lcds are available. See also LCS.

LCS

Liquid Crystal Shutter
Something like a LCD but it is used as an optical shutter instead of a display.

LED

Light Emitting Diode
A semi-conductor that emits light when a current flows through the junction (not too much current). Several wavelengths can be created with LEDs from infrared to blue. If the junction is stressed with a current that is really too high (1000 times too high), then the LED will laser for a moment (if you are lucky) and will then have a permanent meltdown (I think this was how they found out that a LED can be used as laser).

LSI

Large Scale Integration
A chip design technology where many, many components are combined on one single micro-chip. VLSI (Very LSI) crowds even more components on the same area.

LUT

Look Up Table
A term used in video- and framegrabber-interfaces. It is a piece of memory that translates one number into another one in a look-up fashion.