Poynting-Robertson effect

[ poin-ting-rob-ert-suhn ]

nounAstronomy.
  1. the slowing down and consequent spiraling inward of small particles orbiting the sun, due to their interaction with solar radiation.

Origin of Poynting-Robertson effect

1
1955–60; after English physicist John H. Poynting (1852–1914) and U.S. physicist Howard P. Robertson (1903–61)

Words Nearby Poynting-Robertson effect

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023