Van Allen belt

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noun Physics.

either of two regions of high-energy-charged particles surrounding the earth, the inner region centered at an altitude of 2,000 miles (3,200 km) and the outer region at an altitude between 9000 and 12,000 miles (14,500 and 19,000 km).

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Also called Van Allen radiation belt .

Origin of Van Allen belt

First recorded in 1955–60; named after J. A. Van Allen

Words nearby Van Allen belt

vanadium, vanadium pentoxide, vanadium steel, vanadous, Van Allen, Van Allen belt, vanaspati, Vanbrugh, Van Buren, Vance, vancomycin

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

How to use Van Allen belt in a sentence

Finally, Van Cleef and Martin realize Liberty is going too far.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Artists like Mick Jagger and Van Morrison obsessively revered and imitated African-American blues and rock musicians.
The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea|Amy Zimmerman|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Allen met every one of his arguments with a forceful counterargument.
How Martin Luther King Jr. Influenced Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’|Peter Guralnick|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wally said, “One day, Woody Allen will pass, and people will wonder if he really lived.”
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They want to change bad behaviors—tobacco, alcohol, using a seat belt, anything.
Can the U.S. Government Go Moneyball?|Peter Orszag, Jim Nussle|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His boyish suspenders had been put away in favor of a belt, which was tight-drawn about his slim waist.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
He reached down inside my shirt, with a none too gentle hand, and relieved me of the belt that held the money.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Pierre Van Cortlandt, a distinguished revolutionary patriot, died at his seat at Croton river, aged 94.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Van Twiller was himself a grower of the plant and had his tobacco farm at Greenwich.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Just smiled, a sardonic sort of grimace, and unbuckled his belt and handed it over without a word.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for Van Allen belt

Van Allen belt

noun

either of two regions of charged particles above the earth, the inner one extending from 2400 to 5600 kilometres above the earth and the outer one from 13 000 to 19 000 kilometres. The charged particles result from cosmic rays and are trapped by the earth's magnetic field

Word Origin for Van Allen belt

C20: named after its discoverer, J. A. Van Allen

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 Van Allen belt

Van Allen belt

[ văn ăl′ən ]

Either of the two zones surrounding the Earth in which a thin distribution of atomic particles with very high energies are trapped by Earth's magnetic field. The inner belt lies between about 500 and 6,440 km (310 to 4,000 mi) above Earth's equator and consists mostly of a mix of protons and electrons. The upper belt lies between about 15,000 and 30,000 km (9,300 to 18,600 mi) and consists mostly of protons. Both belts are thickest at the equator and have irregular densities of particles. The outer radiation belt is much larger and the number of particles varies, increasing in the aftermath of solar flares. The polar auroras are caused when some of the charged particles from the outer Van Allen belt hit the upper atmosphere. The Van Allen belt is named after its discoverer, American astrophysicist James Van Allen (1914-2006).

Cultural definitions for Van Allen belt

Van Allen belt

Either of two layers of electrically charged (see electrical charge) particles held in orbits above the atmosphere by the magnetic field of the Earth. The belt is named after its discoverer, the twentieth-century American physicist James Van Allen.