air equivalent

American  

noun

Physics.

1. a measure of the effectiveness of a material in absorbing nuclear radiation, expressed as the thickness of an air layer (at 0° C and 1 atmosphere) causing the same absorption.

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Example Sentences

Each collected on its forward side a layer of highly compressed air equivalent in mass to many feet of rock.

From Time Magazine Archive

This "train"�the air equivalent of a motor truck with tandem trailers�taxied across the field and managed to take off, the plane tugging, the gliders lunging after.

From Time Magazine Archive

Finally Sir Hugh Trenehard was appointed Marshal of the Royal Air Force, a rank never before bestowed and the air equivalent of "Admiral of the Fleet" or "Field Marshal."

From Time Magazine Archive