Kernel may refer to:

Computing

* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learning * Kernelization, a technique for designing efficient algorithms ** Kernel, a routine that is executed in a vectorized loop, for example in general-purpose computing on graphics processing units * KERNAL, the Commodore operating system

Mathematics

Objects

* Kernel (algebra), a general concept that includes: ** Kernel (linear algebra) or null space, a set of vectors mapped to the zero vector ** Kernel (category theory), a generalization of the kernel of a homomorphism ** Kernel (set theory), an equivalence relation: partition by image under a function ** Difference kernel, a binary equalizer: the kernel of the difference of two functions

Functions

Kernel (geometry) In geometry, a star-shaped polygon is a polygonal region in the plane that is a star domain, that is, a polygon that contains a point from which the entire polygon boundary is visible. Formally, a polygon is star-shaped if there exists a poin ...

, the set of points within a polygon from which the whole polygon boundary is visible * Kernel (statistics), a weighting function used in kernel density estimation to estimate the probability density function of a random variable * Integral kernel or kernel function, a function of two variables that defines an integral transform * Heat kernel, the fundamental solution to the heat equation on a specified domain * Convolution kernel * Stochastic kernel, the transition function of a stochastic process * Transition kernel, a generalization of a stochastic kernel * Pricing kernel, the stochastic discount factor used in mathematical finance * Positive-definite kernel, a generalization of a positive-definite matrix * Kernel trick, in statistics * Reproducing kernel Hilbert space

Science

Seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

, inside the nut of most plants or the fruitstone of drupes, especially: ** Apricot kernel ** Corn kernel ** Palm kernel ** Wheat kernel *

Atomic nucleus The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden experiments, Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After th ...

, the center of an atom

Companies

* Kernel (agriculture company), a Ukrainian producer of sunflower oil * Kernel (neurotechnology company), a developer of neural interfaces *

The Kernel Brewery The Kernel Brewery was founded in 2009 by Evin O'Riordain in Bermondsey, England. It was one of London's first craft brewers, and within 10 years it had helped inspire the establishment of around a hundred new microbreweries in the capital. Th ...

, a craft brewery in London * '' The Kernel'', an Internet culture website, now part of ''The Daily Dot''

Other uses

* ''Kernel'' (EP), by the band Seam * Kernel Fleck, a character in ''The Demonata'' series of books * Brigitte Kernel (born 1959), French journalist and writer