Hotspot (original) (raw)

A hotspot is a center of high activity within a larger area of low activity. The term is applied to different things in different areas of study:

• In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earth's surface that has vulcanism for a long period of time. Originally thought to be caused by a narrow stream of hot mantle convecting up from the mantle-core boundary [1]. The latest geological evidence is pointing to upper-mantle convection as a cause class="external">[1.
• In genetics, a hotspot can be
  • a position on the DNA where mutations occur with an unusual high frequency
  • a position on the DNA where recombination occurs with an unusual high frequency
• In meteorology, a hotspot is an area where the atmosphere is relatively hot. Examples of hotspots include the air over a desert or the region of Jupiter where the Galileo probe's atmospheric sub-probe descended.
• A hotspot is a Wi-Fi access point or area, in particular for connecting to Internet.