“center of”

The following 25 entries include the term center of.

Entries 1–15 of 25
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center of curvature

noun phrase

: the center of the circle whose center lies on the concave side of a curve on the normal to a given point of the curve and whose radius is equal to the radius of curvature at that point

center of gravity

noun phrase

center of mass

noun phrase

: the point in a body or system of bodies at which the whole mass may be considered as concentrated

center of symmetry

noun phrase

center of action

: any of several large oval areas where the average seasonal or annual barometric pressure is distinctly low or high

center of area

: the point of a plane figure that would coincide with the center of mass of a thin uniform distribution of matter over the area of the figure compare center of figure

center of buoyancy

: the center of mass of the fluid displaced by a floating or submerged body (as a ship, submarine, or balloon) see metacenter

center of effort

: the point on a sail at which application of the whole propelling force of the wind would produce an effect identical with that produced by its distribution over the whole sail

center of figure

: the center of area of a plane figure or the center of volume of a 3-dimensional figure

center of flotation

: the center of gravity of the water plane of a vessel

center of inversion

: the point O from which the distances of two points P and P′ which correspond to one another in an inversion are measured, the inversion being characterized by the fact that the product OP·OP′ is constant

center-of-mass system

noun

: a system of polar coordinates used in describing processes involving moving swarms of particles (as cosmic-ray bursts) with the moving common center of mass as origin and the path of that center as polar axis

center of origin

: an area in which extensive and often rapid speciation has taken place within a natural group

center of oscillation

: a point in a pendulum at which if the mass were concentrated the period would be unchanged compare center of suspension

center of percussion

: the point in a body free to move about a fixed axis at which the body may be squarely struck without jarring the axis

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