Van Allen belt
1
7.4
- noun
- /væn ˈælən bɛlt/
- Specialized
:
cinturón de Van Allen
- Sensors show the Van Allen belt is returning to form and the Earth...
Examples
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Currently, a human being outside the Van Allen belts could receive the NASA-defined "lifetime dose" of galactic cosmic radiation within 200 days.
Blog text (22) -
That, Jake, is the Van Allen belt.
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Mars does not have the equivalent of the shielding Van Allen belts, so a Mars base would also need shielding.
Blog text (22) -
The Earth's magnetosphere, if you'll look to the screen, specifically the Van Allen belt, shields us from deadly solar winds and cosmic radiation.
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The Van Allen belt consists of charged particles that are held in place by Earth's magnetic field.
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Scientists study the Van Allen belt to understand how it protects our planet from harmful solar radiation.
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The Van Allen belt is located approximately 20,000 to 40,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface.
Synonyms
1
6.9
A ring of charged particles held by Earth's magnetic field that surrounds the planet
Surface Forms
Morphology
Van + Allen + belt
This is an eponymic proper noun: 'Van Allen' are personal names with no lexical meaning and 'belt' only indicates a band, so the technical sense 'zone of charged particles held by Earth's magnetic field' cannot be derived from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows the words 'Van', 'Allen' (as names) and 'belt' (as a band) would not predict the specific scientific/geophysical meaning, making the MWE opaque.
Etymology
Van Allen belt is named after space scientist James Van Allen, who used instruments on early satellites to find rings of charged particles around Earth. Because these rings look like a belt around the planet, Van Allen belt now means 'a zone of charged particles that encircles Earth'.