rotation axis

noun

, Crystallography.

1. an imaginary line through a crystal about which the crystal may be rotated a specified number of degrees and be brought back to its original position.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rotation axis¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Former endeavors had been limited to two-dimensional approaches that assumed the symmetry about the Sun's rotation axis.

From Science Daily

"Measuring the location of the rotation axis very precisely is really important to the GPS system and so to everyone who uses it, either with a cell phone, flying in an aircraft, etc."

From Salon

"Most are not aware that the rotation axis wobbles and has drifted from North Geographic pole in the last 123 years by 10-15 meters," Wilson told Salon.

From Salon

"So the influence of this motion on human time scales is not observable to most and has no significant effect on processes on or within Earth. But measuring the location of the rotation axis very precisely is really important to the GPS system and so to everyone who uses it, either with a cell phone, flying in an aircraft, etc."

From Salon

“Every mass moving around on the surface of the Earth can change the rotation axis,” says Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University.

From Scientific American