Virial

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One-half of the product of the stress of attraction or repulsion with the distance between two particles.

    "The quantity 1/2 Rr, or half the product of the attraction into the distance across which the attraction is exerted, is defined by Clausis [Prof. Clausis of Bonn] as the virial of the attraction. (In the case of pressure or repulsion, the virial is negative.)"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to the interactive forces between molecules or particles. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Misspelling of viral. alt-of, misspelling, not-comparable

Example

More examples

"The quantity 1/2 Rr, or half the product of the attraction into the distance across which the attraction is exerted, is defined by Clausis [Prof. Clausis of Bonn] as the virial of the attraction. (In the case of pressure or repulsion, the virial is negative.)"

Etymology

From Latin vīs (vīs has a hidden "r" that shows in forms such as the genitive plural, vīrium).

Related phrases

virial coefficientvirial theorem

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.