radius vector

American  

noun

plural

radii vectores, radius vectors

1. Mathematics. the length of the line segment joining a fixed point or origin to a given point.

2. Astronomy.

   1. the straight line joining two bodies in relative orbital motion, as the line from the sun to a planet at any point in its orbit.

   2. the distance between two such bodies at any point in the orbit.

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radius vector British  

noun

1. maths a line joining a point in space to the origin of polar or spherical coordinates

2. astronomy an imaginary line joining a satellite to the planet or star around which it is orbiting

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radius vector Scientific  

1. A line segment that joins the origin and a variable point in a system of polar or spherical coordinates.

2. The imaginary straight line that connects the center of the Sun or another body with the center of a planet, comet, or other body that orbits it.

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Etymology

Origin of radius vector

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

Note that the torque vector is orthogonal to both the force vector and the radius vector.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Of the three co-ordinates, the radius vector does not admit of direct measurement, and must be inferred by a combination of indirect measurements and physical theories.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various

By examining the inequalities of the other planets he found that they all moved in elliptic orbits, and that the radius vector of each described areas proportional to the times.

From The Martyrs of Science, or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler by Brewster, David, Sir

Since this is so, we may define Spring by the following geometric representation in which the angle ZOP, made by the radius vector with the fundamental plane, shows a springlike tendency.

From Of All Things by Benchley, Robert C.

This force is in a direction perpendicular to the radius vector and to the plane containing it and the element of current.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various