magnetic bubble

American

noun

Computers.

a tiny mobile magnetized area within a magnetic material, the basis of one type of solid-state storage medium magneticbubblememory.

magnetic bubble British

noun

physics a small round magnetic domain induced by a magnetic field in a thin film of magnetic material, used in certain types of computer memories

"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

Etymology

Origin of magnetic bubble

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A first-of-its-kind space mission is planning to reveal more about the magnetic bubble surrounding the earth.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Within this vast magnetic bubble, scientists have observed an electric field that stretches from the morning side of Earth to the evening side.

From Science Daily • Oct. 31, 2025

While many solar storms send gusts of solar wind in other directions, those that hit the Earth can compress and distort our magnetosphere, the protective magnetic bubble surrounding the planet, says Miesch.

From National Geographic • Dec. 1, 2023

“It is a mission to go beyond the boundaries of the heliosphere, the vast magnetic bubble that encases the entire solar system.”

From Scientific American • Jan. 6, 2022

When a giant solar explosion arrives at Earth, the squeezed particles race around the planet to the tail of the magnetic bubble over the night side.

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2015

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023