attenuation [əˌtɛnjʊˈeɪʃən]
n 1. the act of attenuating or the state of being attenuated
2. (Physics / General Physics) the loss of energy suffered by radiation as it passes through matter, esp as a result of absorption or scattering
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
1. Decrease in intensity of a signal, beam, or wave as a result of absorption of energy and of scattering out of the path of a detector, but not including the reduction due to geometric spreading, i.e., the inverse square of distance effect.
2. In mine warfare, the reduction in intensity of an influence as distance from the source increases.
3. In camouflage and concealment, the process of making an object or surface less conspicuous by reducing its contrast to the surroundings and/or background. Also called tone down.
The main thing we still have to consider Allen, is what infinity may be made up of, and we can only conjecture these points__though my guess is that beyond our present light cone and CMBR, the greater Universe may exist as an extended field, with greatly changed state dynamics, as it would exist with absolutely no heat, or a state at least as possible as it is to achieving absolute zero k, which automatically, by wave dynamics, or thermodynamics, requires it to be hydrodynamic, but only hydrodynamic enough so's not to overcome the present finite states light cone expansion__but when that light cone reaches its most extreme state of heat entropy, the state changing infinite conditions take over to recycle the entire Universe__But realize, this is just my conjecture__I can't be positive... But, our finite decay, that we do know is happening, leads my science theorizing and maths in this greater direction__especially at finite decay limit...
Still, we should never confuse fact with theory...