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cross section

cross section

4 definitions found for cross section

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  cross section \cross section\ v. t.
     to create one or a series of cross sections[3] by cutting
     (an object) into thin slices.
     [PJC]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  cross section \cross section\ n.
     1. a flat plane cutting through a three-dimensional object,
        usually at right angles to the longest axis of the object.
        [PJC]
  
     2. any visual representation of a cross section[1], showing
        the internal structure of the object in the plane of the
        cross section; as, the technician prepared a series of MRI
        cross sections of the skull.
  
     Note: Different cross sections created by different
           techniques may show different aspects of internal
           structure. Thus computerized axial tomography using
           X-rays shows different structures than are visualized
           by MRI.
           [PJC]
  
     3. a thin slice of an object made by cutting it transversely;
        as, to view a cross section of a bacterium with an
        electron microscope after staining the DNA; cross sections
        were prepared with a microtome.
        [PJC]
  
     4. a representative sample of a complex group; as, the town
        contained a cross section of the American population.
        [PJC]
  
     5. (Physics) a measure of the probability that a nucleus will
        interact in a specified way with a bombarding particle,
        expressed as the effective area that the nucleus presents
        to the particle; -- called also nuclear cross section.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :

  cross section
      n 1: a section created by a plane cutting a solid perpendicular
           to its longest axis
      2: a sample meant to be representative of a whole population
      3: (physics) the probability that a particular interaction (as
         capture or ionization) will take place between particles;
         measured in barns

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  47 Moby Thesaurus words for "cross section":
     adjunct, chiasma, component, contingent, crossing, cruciation,
     decussation, detachment, detail, division, dole, embodiment,
     example, exponent, fraction, installment, intercrossing,
     intersecting, intersection, item, parcel, part, particular,
     percentage, portion, quadrant, quarter, quota, random sample,
     remainder, representation, representative, sample, sampling,
     section, sector, segment, share, specimen, subdivision, subgroup,
     subspecies, transection, transversion, traversal, type,
     typification