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• inverse square law
  inverse square law

  noun

  one of several laws relating two quantities such that one quantity varies inversely as the square of the other, as the law that the illumination produced on a screen by a point source varies inversely as the square of the distance of the screen from the source.
• inverse-square law
  inverse-square law

  The principle in physics that the effect of certain forces on an object varies by the inverse square of the distance between the object and the source of the force. The magnitude of light, sound, and gravity obey this law, as do other quantities. For example, an object placed three feet away from a light source will receive only one ninth (1/3², the inverse of 3 squared) as much illumination as an object placed one foot from the light.

inverse square law

American  

noun

Physics, Optics.

1. one of several laws relating two quantities such that one quantity varies inversely as the square of the other, as the law that the illumination produced on a screen by a point source varies inversely as the square of the distance of the screen from the source.

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inverse square law British  

noun

1. any natural law in which the magnitude of a physical quantity varies inversely with the square of the distance from its source

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inverse-square law Scientific  

1. The principle in physics that the effect of certain forces on an object varies by the inverse square of the distance between the object and the source of the force. The magnitude of light, sound, and gravity obey this law, as do other quantities. For example, an object placed three feet away from a light source will receive only one ninth (1/3², the inverse of 3 squared) as much illumination as an object placed one foot from the light.

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