hysteresis

[his-tuh-ree-sis]

noun

Physics.

1. the lag in response exhibited by a body in reacting to changes in the forces, especially magnetic forces, affecting it.

2. the phenomenon exhibited by a system, often a ferromagnetic or imperfectly elastic material, in which the reaction of the system to changes is dependent upon its past reactions to change.

hysteresis

/ ˌhɪstəˈrɛtɪk, ˌhɪstəˈriːsɪs /

noun

1. physics the lag in a variable property of a system with respect to the effect producing it as this effect varies, esp the phenomenon in which the magnetic flux density of a ferromagnetic material lags behind the changing external magnetic field strength

hysteresis

1. The dependence of the state of a system on the history of its state. For example, the magnetization of a material such as iron depends not only on the magnetic field it is exposed to but on previous exposures to magnetic fields. This “memory” of previous exposure to magnetism is the working principle in audio tape and hard disk devices. Deformations in the shape of substances that last after the deforming force has been removed, as well as phenomena such as supercooling, are examples of hysteresis.

Other Word Forms

• hysteretically adverb
• hysteretic adjective
• hysteresial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hysteresis¹

1795–1805; < Greek hystérēsis deficiency, state of being behind or late, hence inferior, equivalent to hysterē-, variant stem of hystereîn to come late, lag behind, verbal derivative of hýsteros coming behind + -sis -sis

Word History and Origins

Origin of hysteresis¹

C19: from Greek husterēsis coming late, from husteros coming after

Example Sentences

Economists call this “hysteresis”, where joblessness begets more of it.

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Until now, researchers have hypothesized that viscoelastic energy dissipation causes adhesion hysteresis in soft solids.

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That hysteresis effect buys us a little bit of a margin of error but not a big one.

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"But inflation lags the economic cycle. The risk is that hysteresis forces in the inflation cycle keep central banks on a war path for too long, causing policy overshooting."

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I have been a strong proponent of ideas such as secular stagnation and hysteresis that warn of the long-run consequences of insufficient demand.

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