RMS
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | Root mean square |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Science & Engineering, Transportation & Travel, Government & Politics |
RMS has three meanings. The most common are Root mean square (electronics & electrical) and Royal Mail Ship (maritime); it can also stand for Records management system.
Meanings of RMS at a glance
| # | RMS stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root mean square | Science & Engineering › Electronics & Electrical |
| 2 | Royal Mail Ship | Transportation & Travel › Maritime |
| 3 | Records management system | Government & Politics › Police |
1. Root mean square
Science & Engineering · Electronics & Electrical Abbreviations
Way of expressing the effective value of a varying voltage or current: the DC value that would deliver the same power to a resistor. Household AC voltages are quoted as RMS values, so 120 V RMS mains actually peaks at about 170 volts.
Example: A true-RMS multimeter reads distorted waveforms from dimmers and drives accurately.
For a pure sine wave, peak value equals RMS times the square root of 2 (about 1.414). Cheaper meters assume a sine wave and can misread distorted signals. Audio amplifier marketing sometimes quotes misleading "peak" power figures instead of continuous RMS ratings.
2. Royal Mail Ship
Transportation & Travel · Maritime Abbreviations
Prefix for ocean liners and other ships contracted to carry mail for the British Royal Mail, a mark of prestige for famous liners such as RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania and RMS Queen Mary. The Cunard liner Queen Mary 2 still carries the designation.
Example: Passengers aboard RMS Queen Mary 2 can still post letters that travel across the Atlantic by sea.
Sometimes expanded as Royal Mail Steamer. Mail contracts provided important subsidies to shipping lines in the 19th and early 20th centuries. RMS St Helena carried mail to the remote island until an airport opened there. In government computing, RMS has other meanings, such as records management system.
3. Records management system
Government & Politics · Police Abbreviations
Software system that police agencies use to store incident reports, arrests, case files, evidence records and crime statistics. An RMS usually connects with computer-aided dispatch and state databases.
Example: Pull the prior incident reports for that address from the RMS before the interview.
Agencies use RMS data to produce crime statistics for NIBRS reporting. Replacing an RMS is a major and costly project for many departments. In maritime history, RMS means Royal Mail Ship, an unrelated meaning.
Related abbreviations
More electronics & electrical abbreviations
- PTC – Positive temperature coefficient (thermistor)
- PWM – Pulse-width modulation
- RCD – Residual-current device
- RFI – Radio-frequency interference
- SCR – Silicon-controlled rectifier
- SMD – Surface-mount device
- SMPS – Switched-mode power supply
- SMT – Surface-mount technology
See all 82 electronics & electrical abbreviations →