Breakeven
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The breakeven point in economics is the point at which cost or expenses and income are equal - there is no net loss or gain, one has "broken even".
The point at which a firm or other economic entity breaks even is equal to its fixed costs divided by its contribution per unit output, which can be shown by the following formula: -
<math>\mbox{Breakeven Point} = {\mbox{Fixed Costs} \over \mbox{Contribution per Unit Output}}<math>
The break even point is also the point on a chart indicating the time when something has broken even, and is a general term for not having gained or lost something in a process.
Other uses of the term
In nuclear fusion research, the term breakeven refers to a fusion energy gain factor equal to unity.
The notion can also be found in more general phenomena, such as percolation, and is rather similar to the critical threshold.
In computer science, the term breakeven point refers to a point in the life cycle of a programming language where the language is capable of developing its own compiler or interpreter. This usually marks a transition from a "toy" language to a language usable in the real world.