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)
- (mechanics) Of or pertaining to the interactive forces between molecules or particles
Noun
virial (plural virials)
- (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.)
- 1875, James Clerk Maxwell, On the Dynamical Evidence of the Molecular Constitution of Bodies, Nature 11 (1875), 357-359, 374-377,
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2
Adjective
virial (not comparable)
- Misspelling of viral.