solar : Idioms & Phrases


Mean solar day

  • noun time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
    twenty-four hours; mean solar day; twenty-four hour period; day; 24-hour interval.
    • two days later they left
    • they put on two performances every day
    • there are 30,000 passengers per day
WordNet
  • (Astron.), the mean or average of all the apparent solar days of the year.
Webster 1913

mean solar time

  • noun (astronomy) time based on the motion of the mean sun (an imaginary sun moving uniformly along the celestial equator)
    mean time.
WordNet

solar apex

  • noun the point on the celestial sphere toward which the sun and solar system appear to be moving relative to the fixed stars
    apex; apex of the sun's way.
WordNet

solar array

  • noun electrical device consisting of a large array of connected solar cells
    solar array; solar battery.
WordNet

solar battery

  • noun electrical device consisting of a large array of connected solar cells
    solar array; solar battery.
WordNet

solar calendar

  • noun a calendar based on solar cycles
WordNet

solar cell

  • noun a cell that converts solar energy into electrical energy
    photovoltaic cell.
WordNet

solar collector

  • noun a concave mirror that concentrates the rays of the sun; can produce high temperatures
    solar collector; solar dish.
WordNet

solar constant

  • noun the rate at which radiant solar energy is received at the outer layer of the earth's atmosphere
WordNet

Solar cycle

  • . See under Cycle.
Webster 1913

Solar day

  • noun time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
    twenty-four hours; mean solar day; twenty-four hour period; day; 24-hour interval.
    • two days later they left
    • they put on two performances every day
    • there are 30,000 passengers per day
WordNet
  • . See Day, 2.
Webster 1913

solar dish

  • noun a concave mirror that concentrates the rays of the sun; can produce high temperatures
    solar collector; solar dish.
WordNet

solar eclipse

  • noun the moon interrupts light from the sun
WordNet

solar energy

  • noun energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy
    solar energy.
    • the amount of energy falling on the earth is given by the solar constant, but very little use has been made of solar energy
WordNet

Solar engine

  • an engine in which the energy of solar heat is used to produce motion, as in evaporating water for a steam engine, or expanding air for an air engine.
Webster 1913

solar flare

  • noun a sudden eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface; associated with sunspots and radio interference
    flare.
WordNet

Solar flowers

  • (Bot.), flowers which open and shut daily at certain hours.
Webster 1913

solar furnace

  • noun a concave mirror that concentrates the rays of the sun; can produce high temperatures
    solar collector; solar dish.
WordNet

solar gravity

  • noun the gravity of the sun
    • solar gravity creates extreme pressures and temperatures
WordNet

solar halo

  • noun a luminous halo parallel to the horizon at the altitude of the sun; caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere
    parhelic ring; parhelic circle.
WordNet

solar heater

  • noun a heater that makes direct use of solar energy
WordNet

solar house

  • noun a house designed to use solar radiation for heating; usually has large areas of glass in front of heat-absorbing materials
WordNet

Solar lamp

  • an argand lamp.
Webster 1913

solar magnetic field

  • noun the magnetic field of the sun
WordNet

Solar microscope

  • a microscope consisting essentially, first, of a mirror for reflecting a beam of sunlight through the tube, which sometimes is fixed in a window shutter; secondly, of a condenser, or large lens, for converging the beam upon the object; and, thirdly, of a small lens, or magnifier, for throwing an enlarged image of the object at its focus upon a screen in a dark room or in a darkened box.
Webster 1913

Solar month

  • noun one-twelfth of a solar or tropical year
WordNet
  • . See under Month.
Webster 1913

Solar oil

  • a paraffin oil used an illuminant and lubricant.
Webster 1913

solar panel

  • noun electrical device consisting of a large array of connected solar cells
    solar array; solar battery.
WordNet

solar parallax

  • noun the angle subtended by the mean equatorial radius of the Earth at a distance of one astronomical unit
WordNet

Solar phosphori

  • (Physics), certain substances, as the diamond, siulphide of barium (Bolognese or Bologna phosphorus), calcium sulphide, etc., which become phosphorescent, and shine in the dark, after exposure to sunlight or other intense light.
Webster 1913

solar physics

  • noun the branch of astronomy that deals with the sun
WordNet

Solar plexus

  • noun a large plexus of sympathetic nerves in the abdomen behind the stomach
    plexus celiacus; abdominal nerve plexus; coeliac plexus.
WordNet
  • (Anat.), a nervous plexus situated in the dorsal and anterior part of the abdomen, consisting of several sympathetic ganglia with connecting and radiating nerve fibers; so called in allusion to the radiating nerve fibers.
Webster 1913

solar power

  • noun energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy
    solar energy.
    • the amount of energy falling on the earth is given by the solar constant, but very little use has been made of solar energy
WordNet

solar prominence

  • noun large eruptions of luminous hydrogen gas that rise thousands of kilometers above the chromosphere
WordNet

solar radiation

  • noun radiation from the sun
WordNet

Solar spots

  • . See Sun spots, under Sun.
Webster 1913

Solar system

  • noun the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field
WordNet
  • (Astron.), the sun, with the group of celestial bodies which, held by its attraction, revolve round it. The system comprises the major planets, with their satellites; the minor planets, or asteroids, and the comets; also, the meteorids, the matter that furnishes the zodiacal light, and the rings of Saturn. The satellites that revolve about the major planets are twenty-two in number, of which the Earth has one (see Moon.), Mars two, Jupiter five, Saturn nine, Uranus four, and Neptune one. The asteroids, between Mars and Jupiter, thus far discovered (1900), number about five hundred, the first four of which were found near the beginning of the century, and are called Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta. The principal elements of the major planets, and of the comets seen at more than one perihelion passage, are exhibited in the following tables: I. Major Planets.Symbol.Name.Mean distance that of the Earth being unity.Period in days.Eccentricity.Inclination of orbit.Diameter in miles
    II. Periodic Comets.Name.Greatest distance from sun.Least distance from sun.Inclination of orbit.Perihelion passage.° &min; 54Encke's3.314.100.34212 541885.2
Webster 1913

Solar telegraph

  • telegraph for signaling by flashes of reflected sunlight.
Webster 1913

solar telescope

  • noun a telescope designed to make observations of the sun
WordNet

solar thermal system

  • noun a system that converts sunlight into heat
WordNet

Solar time

  • . See Apparent time, under Time.
Webster 1913

solar trap

  • noun a terrace or garden oriented to take advantage of the sun while protected from cold winds
    suntrap.
WordNet

solar wind

  • noun a stream of protons moving radially from the sun
WordNet

solar year

  • noun the time for the earth to make one revolution around the sun, measured between two vernal equinoxes
    tropical year; astronomical year; equinoctial year.
WordNet