magnetic meridian

American  

noun

1. a line on the earth's surface, passing in the direction of the horizontal component of the earth's magnetic field.

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magnetic meridian British  

noun

1. a continuous imaginary line around the surface of the earth passing through both magnetic poles

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magnetic meridian Scientific  

1. An imaginary reference line passing through both geomagnetic poles of the Earth, used in models and maps of the Earth's magnetic field.

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Example Sentences

A periodic current thus flowed in one direction relatively to the coil in one half-turn from a position perpendicular to the magnetic meridian, and in the opposite direction in the next half-turn.

From Lord Kelvin An account of his scientific life and work by Gray, Andrew

The points where the magnetic intensity is at a minimum, on the magnetic meridian, are the warmest points of that meridian, and those where it is most intense, the coldest.

From The Philosophy of the Weather And a Guide to Its Changes by Butler, Thomas Belden

Deviation of the Compass, the deflection of a ship's compass needle from the magnetic meridian, caused by adjacent iron.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various

A black vertical line or mark in the compass-bowl in the direction of the ship's head, by which the angle between the magnetic meridian and the ship's line of course is shown.

From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir

Thus when standing upright in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic meridian, and when consequently its own plane was inclined only about 20� to the dip, revolution of the plate evolved electricity.

From Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volume 1 by Faraday, Michael