reference frame
Americannoun
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A basis of a four-dimensional coordinate system in which the first coordinate is understood as a time coordinate, while the other three coordinates represent spatial dimensions. Inertial frames and non-inertial frames are both examples of reference frames.
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Also called frame of reference
Etymology
Origin of reference frame
First recorded in 1920–25
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.
In the electron's reference frame, the laser intensity appeared to be about 50% of the Schwinger limit, triggering nonlinear QED phenomena.
From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024
However, the notion of continental groupings as a meaningful reference frame for understanding human biological variation persisted.
From Scientific American • Dec. 22, 2022
An observer in a particular reference frame can describe the motion of an object using such quantities as position, displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and acceleration.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
An observer in a particular reference frame can describe the motion of an object using such quantities as position, displacement, distance, velocity, speed, and acceleration.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
In our reference frame, the vessel had put on an incredible velocity, and covered the nine-hundred-odd light-years around Rigel in six months.
From Out Around Rigel by Wilson, Robert H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
