| / English Dictionary |
ASYMMETRY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(mathematics) a lack of symmetry
Synonyms:
asymmetry; dissymmetry; imbalance
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("asymmetry" is a kind of...):
spatial property; spatiality (any property relating to or occupying space)
Domain category:
math; mathematics; maths (a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "asymmetry"):
geometrical irregularity; irregularity (an irregular asymmetry in shape; an irregular spatial pattern)
lopsidedness; skewness (an oblique or slanting asymmetry)
radial asymmetry (the absence of symmetry about an axis)
handedness; laterality (the property of using one hand more than the other)
footedness (the property of favoring one foot over the other (as in kicking a ball))
eyedness (the property of favoring one eye over the other (as in taking aim))
Antonym:
symmetry ((mathematics) an attribute of a shape or relation; exact reflection of form on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane)
Derivation:
asymmetric; asymmetrical (characterized by asymmetry in the spatial arrangement or placement of parts or components)
Context examples:
The team determined that lithium insertion caused an asymmetry in the spacing between vanadium atoms, known as Peierls distortion, which was responsible for the breakup of the VS2 flakes.
(Creating Better Lithium-Ion Batteries Made Possible with New Discovery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The gross asymmetries of the outer dust field are telling us there are a lot of forces in play (beyond just host-star radiation pressure) that are moving the material around.
(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)
A finding indicating the presence of greater than normal asymmetry between the right and left sides of the body.
(Hemihypertrophy, NCI Thesaurus)
Thus, the magnitude of the asymmetry in gravity determines how deep the jet streams extend.
(Jupiter’s Jet-Streams Are Unearthly, NASA)
On a gas planet, such an asymmetry can only come from flows deep within the planet; and on Jupiter, the visible eastward and westward jet streams are likewise asymmetric north and south. The deeper the jets, the more mass they contain, leading to a stronger signal expressed in the gravity field.
(Jupiter’s Jet-Streams Are Unearthly, NASA)
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