Van Allen belt


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Van Al·len belt

 (văn ăl′ən)
n.
Either of two toroidal zones containing high-energy ionized particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field and surrounding the planet, beginning at an altitude of about 800 kilometers (500 miles) and extending tens of thousands of kilometers into space.
[After James Alfred Van Allen (1914-2006), American physicist.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Van Allen belt

n
(Physical Geography) 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
[C20: named after its discoverer, J. A. Van Allen]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Van Al′len belt`

(væn ˈæl ən)
n.
either of two atmospheric regions of high-energy charged particles, one at an altitude of about 2000 mi. (3200 km) and the other at from 9000 to 12,000 mi. (14,500 to 19,000 km).
[1955–60; after J. A. Van Allen (b. 1914), U.S. physicist]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Van Al·len belt

(văn ăl′ən)
Either of two zones of high-intensity radiation surrounding the Earth. In these zones, a large number of atomic particles with high energies are trapped by the Earth's magnetic field.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.Van Allen belt - a belt of charged particles (resulting from cosmic rays) above the Earth trapped by the Earth's magnetic field
earth, globe, world - the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on; "the Earth moves around the sun"; "he sailed around the world"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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Refusing to give up, Nick insisted: "Around the outside of the earth is the Van Allen belt which is massively radioactive and the argument is you would have to build a spacecraft out of lead in order to protect the astronauts."
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Radiation in the Van Allen Belt disrupted and damaged Telstar's delicate electronics, until it finally broke down for good on February 21st, 1963.
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The planet is surrounded by the Van Allen Belt to stop harmful radiation hitting our planet from outer space.
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Therefore, the trapped particle radiation confined by the magnetosphere in the Van Allen belt is the major source of exposure in the low-Earth orbit where the ISS is located.
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Named "The Van Allen Belt," it was subsequently purchased by Fred Kennedy of Rochester, Minnesota, who donated it to the Smithsonian Institution.
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The Van Allen belt, a zone of radiation around Earth about 600 miles in space, was detected by U.S.
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NASA has previously addressed the presence of the Van Allen belt - which exists hundreds of miles from the surface of the Earth.
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