solar wind

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noun

an emanation from the sun's corona consisting of a flow of charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, that interacts with the magnetic field of the earth and other planetary bodies.

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THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of solar wind

First recorded in 1955–60

Words nearby solar wind

solar sail, solar ship, solar still, solar system, solar time, solar wind, solar year, solate, solation, solatium, sold

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

How to use solar wind in a sentence

Others suggest the switchbacks are created by turbulence within the solar wind itself.
The Parker Solar Probe will have company on its next pass by the sun|Lisa Grossman|January 15, 2021|Science News
As the first probe to boast cameras that stare directly at the sun up close, the craft aims to sense local breezes in the solar wind and trace them back to the surface eruptions that might cause them.
The 100 greatest innovations of 2020|Popular Science Staff|December 2, 2020|Popular-Science
It might be created from solar winds interacting with the lunar rocks themselves.
New 3D moon models show it might hold up to 15,000 miles of frozen water|Kat Eschner|October 27, 2020|Popular-Science
Other instruments studied the planet’s temperature and density as well as its magnetic environment and how it interacts with solar winds.
A spacecraft en route to Mercury just caught this fresh new look at Venus|Neel Patel|October 15, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Things in space can weather down just as they do on Earth—only out there, the main forces to reckon with are solar winds and granular matter like micrometeorites.
Asteroid Bennu may have been home to ancient water flows|Neel Patel|October 8, 2020|MIT Technology Review

British Dictionary definitions for solar wind

solar wind

/ (wɪnd) /

noun

the constant stream of charged particles, esp protons and electrons, emitted by the sun at high velocities, its density and speed varying during periods of solar activity. It interacts with the earth's magnetic field, some of the particles being trapped by the magnetic lines of force, and causes auroral displaysSee also Van Allen belt, magnetosphere

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

Scientific definitions for solar wind

solar wind

A continuous stream of plasma ejected by the Sun, flowing outward from the corona. This plasma, which consists mostly of protons and electrons, has enough energy to escape the Sun's gravitational field at speeds ranging from about 300 to 800 km (186 to 496 mi) per second and averaging 1,610,000 km (1,000,000 mi) per hour, which allows the solar wind to reach Earth in about 3.9 days. The speed and intensity of the solar wind depends on magnetic activity at different regions of the Sun. The solar wind spreads out from the Sun in a pinwheel pattern as a result of the Sun's rotation, pushing back the interstellar medium to the boundary known as the heliopause. The tails of comets, which always extend away from the Sun regardless of the direction of the comet's motion, are a result of the impact of solar wind, which dislodges ice and other particles from the comet's surface. Similar winds flowing from other stars are called stellar winds. See also aurora.

Cultural definitions for solar wind

solar wind

A stream of particles (mostly protons) emitted by the sun and permeating the solar system.

notes for solar wind

Particularly strong bursts of particles can penetrate the upper atmosphere and disrupt radio communications on Earth.