virial

English

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin vīs (vīs has a hidden "r" that shows in forms such as the genitive plural, vīrium)

Adjective

virial (not comparable)

1. (mechanics) Of or pertaining to the interactive forces between molecules or particles

Noun

virial (plural virials)

1. (mechanics) Half of the product of the stress of attraction or repulsion with the distance between two particles.
   • 1875, James Clerk Maxwell, On the Dynamical Evidence of the Molecular Constitution of Bodies, Nature 11 (1875), 357-359, 374-377,

     The quantity 1/2 Rr, or half the product of the attraction into the distance across which the attraction is exerted, is defined by Clausis [Prof. Clausis of Bonn] as the virial of the attraction. (In the case of pressure or repulsion, the virial is negative.)

Derived terms

• virialize
• virialization

Related terms

• vis
• vim

Etymology 2

Adjective

virial (not comparable)

1. Misspelling of viral.