hysteresis
the lag in response exhibited by a body in reacting to changes in the forces, especially magnetic forces, affecting it.: Compare magnetic hysteresis.
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.
Origin of hysteresis
1Other words from hysteresis
- hys·ter·et·ic [his-tuh-ret-ik], /ˌhɪs təˈrɛt ɪk/, hys·ter·e·si·al [his-tuh-ree-see-uhl], /ˌhɪs təˈri si əl/, adjective
- hys·ter·et·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for hysteresis
/ (ˌhɪstəˈriːsɪs) /
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
Origin of hysteresis
1Derived forms of hysteresis
- hysteretic (ˌhɪstəˈrɛtɪk), adjective
- hysteretically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for hysteresis
[ hĭs′tə-rē′sĭs ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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