inverse square law

noun

: a statement in physics: a given physical quantity (such as illumination) varies with the distance from the source inversely as the square of the distance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The amount of light an objects gets from the Sun depends on its distance from the Sun squared (this is called the inverse square law of light). —Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2012

Gravity’s inverse square law also means the reach of gravitational attraction is technically infinite. —Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2013

The team compared these measurements to Newton’s famous inverse square law of gravity, which describes how the gravitational force between two objects depends on their separation: the data were consistent with Newton’s law to within 10 percent. —Ben Brubaker, Scientific American, 10 Mar. 2021

This inverse square law, which arises from geometry, is an idealization that strictly applies to nonphysical point masses. —Quanta Magazine, 5 Dec. 2019

This is because of a mathematical relationship called the inverse square law. —Ben Finio, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2019

Power law distributions are seen in many physical situations, like the inverse square laws of gravitation and electric fields. —Quanta Magazine, 20 Aug. 2018

Most of the time, crowds flow along this way, each person using this inverse square law to avoid collisions while getting to their own destination. —Evelyn Lamb, Smithsonian, 17 Jan. 2017

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Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

inverse square law

noun

: a statement in physics: a physical quantity (as illumination) varies as the reciprocal of the square of the distance of the quantity from its source