geostatic

English

Etymology

From geo- +‎ static.

Adjective

geostatic (not comparable)

1. (civil engineering) Relating to the pressure exerted by earth or similar substance.

   geostatic load

   geostatic burden

   geostatic pressure

   geostatic stress

2. Based on a model in which the earth does not move and all other motion is described relative to the earth's fixed position.
   • 1983, John Earman, Testing Scientific Theories, page 257:

     In contrast, the moon, since it shares the earth's heliocentric motion, does not have a component of its geostatic motion that mirrors the earth's orbit and thereby yields retrogression, as does the epicycle of a superior planet.

   • 1996, Hugh Thurston, Early Astronomy, page 206:

     If we make a scale model in a flat box of a geostatic solar system , driven perhaps by an electric motor , place it on a smooth table , and hold the sun still, allowing the box to slide around on the table, we obtain a heliostatic system.

Derived terms

• geostatic arch

Anagrams

• cogitates