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particle
has definitions from the fields of grammar,linguistics,physics
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[ noun ] (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
Used in print (Doris Miles Disney, Mrs. Meeker's Money....)`` Many minute hemorrhages in the lungs ; particles of lint and thread in the mouth and nostrils . Related terms |
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[ noun ] (physics) a body having finite mass and internal structure but negligible dimensions
Used in print (J. F. Vedder, "Micrometeorites", in Francis S. J...)The Poynting-Robertson effect ( Robertson , 1937 ; Wyatt and Whipple , 1950 ) , which is a retardation of the orbital motion of particles by the relativistic aberration of the repulsive_force of the impinging solar_radiation , causes the dust to spiral into the sun in times much shorter than the age of the Earth . The radial velocity varies inversely as the particle size - a 1000 - � m diameter particle near the orbit of Mars would reach the sun in about 60 million years . The radial velocity varies inversely as the particle size - a 1000 - � m diameter particle near the orbit of Mars would reach the sun in about 60 million years . Whipple ( 1955 ) extends the effects to include the solar corpuscular_radiation pressure , which increases both the minimum particle size and the drag . The Poynting-Robertson effect causes the semi major_axis of orbits to diminish more rapidly than the semi-minor_axis , with a consequent tendency toward circular orbits as the particles move toward the sun . |
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[ noun ] (grammar,linguistics) a function word having different uses in different languages
Used in print (Philip Jos‚ Farmer, The Lovers....)Instead of inflecting a verb or using an unattached particle to indicate the past or future , Siddo used an entirely different word . Related terms |
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