black box—
1. a flight recorder in an aircraft:
- The flight recorder is an indestructible “black box” which automatically records the key functions in the aircraft.
2. any apparatus of unknown internal design:
- Crime squads are searching for the manufacturer of a black box which contains a device that can reverse electricity meter readings.
3. (Austral.) a tree with narrow, grey-green leaves and rugged, dark grey bark:
- Other communities contain species that are at the extremes of their natural distribution, such as black box (Eucalyptus largiflorens).
dark box—a container from which light is wholly excluded (used for storing light-sensitive plates, etc.):
- Diaphanoscope—a dark box constructed for exhibiting transparent photographs.
Note: Neither expression is antonymous in meaning to the phrase white box—used of computers without brand names (such as Dell, HP, etc.) assembled by smaller manufacturers and often packed in unlabeled white boxes:
- Computer professionals often prefer white box computers constructed with higher quality components.