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radiation belt

American

noun

Physics.

Van Allen belt.

radiation belt British

noun

a region in the magnetosphere of a planet in which charged particles are trapped by the planet's magnetic field, an example being the earth's Van Allen belts

"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 radiation belt

First recorded in 1955–60

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.

See Examples For:

radiation belt

The mission made significant discoveries, including the first data that show the existence of a transient third radiation belt, which can form during times of intense solar activity, Nasa said.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

Instruments detected an electron radiation belt far stronger than scientists had predicted.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2026

Researchers have spied the first radiation belt outside the Solar System.

From Science Magazine ● May 17, 2023

Mars used to have a radiation belt, but it disappeared over time as its magnetic field all but disappeared.

From Salon ● May 17, 2023

But this thin atmosphere can serve a useful purpose, because it may be just thick enough to protect the surface from the intense charged particles in the Jupiter radiation belt in which Io is embedded.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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