'nuclear cross section' definitions:

Definition of 'nuclear cross section'

From: GCIDE
  • 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]