reduced mass

American  

noun

Mechanics.

1. a quantity obtained when one particle is moving about another, larger particle that is also moving, equivalent to the mass of the smaller particle, were the larger particle not moving, and equal to the quotient of the product of the two masses divided by their sum.

---

Etymology

Origin of reduced mass

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

With reduced mass, shelves cannot as readily hold back advancing glaciers behind them, and more ice flows into the ocean, raising sea levels faster.

From Scientific American • Apr. 20, 2022

“New York City sending fewer people into the justice system reduced mass incarceration in the entire state,” the study found.

From New York Times • Jan. 3, 2014

For those who are just on the edge of health, less heating, air-conditioning, lighting and even reduced mass transit, can be enough to push some of them into illness or even death, he notes.

From Scientific American • Mar. 2, 2012

This reduced mass of small ice is pasted and cemented along the shores of the Big Lead, leaving a broad band of troublesome surface as a serious barrier to sled travel.

From My Attainment of the Pole by Cook, Frederick A.

The bear, by throwing all his weight against the reduced mass of ice, might break his way out; and as by the constant chiselling the wall grew weaker and thinner, Pouchskin’s fears increased in proportion.

From Bruin The Grand Bear Hunt by Zwecker, Johann Baptist