Zastrugi \Zas*tru"gi\, n. pl.; sing. -ga. [Russ. zastruga
   furrow made on the shore by water.]
   Grooves or furrows formed in snow by the action of the wind,
   and running parallel with the direction of the wind. This
   formation results from the erosion of transverse waves
   previously formed.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

	

	GA
    n 1: the first known nerve agent, synthesized by German chemists
         in 1936; a highly toxic combustible liquid that is soluble
         in organic solvents and is used as a nerve gas in chemical
         warfare [syn: tabun, GA]
    2: a rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element; brittle
       at low temperatures but liquid above room temperature; occurs
       in trace amounts in bauxite and zinc ores [syn: gallium,
       Ga, atomic number 31]
    3: a state in southeastern United States; one of the Confederate
       states during the American Civil War [syn: Georgia, Empire
       State of the South, Peach State, GA]

	

	GA
       General Availability (OS/2)

	

	GA
       Genetic Algorithm(s)

	

	ga

    The country code for Gabon.

   (1999-01-27)

	

	genetic algorithm
GA
genetic algorithms

   (GA) An evolutionary algorithm which generates each
   individual from some encoded form known as a "chromosome" or
   "genome".  Chromosomes are combined or mutated to breed new
   individuals.  "Crossover", the kind of recombination of
   chromosomes found in sexual reproduction in nature, is often
   also used in GAs.  Here, an offspring's chromosome is created
   by joining segments choosen alternately from each of two
   parents' chromosomes which are of fixed length.

   GAs are useful for multidimensional optimisation problems in
   which the chromosome can encode the values for the different
   variables being optimised.

   Illinois Genetic Algorithms Laboratory
   (http://GAL4.GE.UIUC.EDU/illigal.home.html) (IlliGAL).

   (1995-02-03)