dipole moment

noun

: the moment produced by a magnetic or electric dipole
especially : the product of the distance between the two poles and the magnitude of either pole

Examples of dipole moment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The strength of this field is the electron's magnetic dipole moment, and it has been measured to very high precision. Luke Caldwell, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024 These four varying configurations of static and vibrating lattices [A-D] manifest in different dipole moments [graphs on right]. IEEE Spectrum, 17 Feb. 2023 This charge separation is referred to as the electric dipole moment (EDM). Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 10 Apr. 2023 These violations should be apparent in the neutron’s electric dipole moment—a measure of the electric field that would arise if the positive charge inside the neutron resided closer to one end of the particle and the negative charge closer to the other. Rachel Courtland, IEEE Spectrum, 1 May 2014 The presence of phonons, of course, affects those lattices’s dipole moments as well. IEEE Spectrum, 17 Feb. 2023 In the new paper, Vares and Persinger report a correlation between the strength of the earth’s magnetic dipole moment, atmospheric CO2, and global temperatures. Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 16 Oct. 2015 The dipole moment basically is a way to describe the strength of a magnet, just like electric charge describes the strength of an electric interaction. Rhett Allain, Wired, 31 Dec. 2021 Many of them also influence the electron's dipole moment. Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 7 Nov. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dipole moment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dipole moment was in 1926

Dictionary Entries Near dipole moment

Cite this Entry

“Dipole moment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dipole%20moment. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

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