nebular hypothesis
- noun
- /ˈnɛbjələr haɪˈpɒθɪsɪs/
- Specialized
:
hipótesis nebular
- Many scientists accept the nebular hypothesis as the best explanation for the formation of the solar system.
- nebular hypothesis to explain
Examples
-
There are separate chapters on the Sun, each of the planets, the Moon, the asteroids, comets, the laws of motion and gravitation, instrumental astronomy, and the nebular hypothesis.
Academic text (2005) -
His nebular hypothesis of the origins of the solar system (later given a mathematical basis by Laplace) is now generally accepted as correct.
Blog text (33) -
Pierre-Simon Marquis de Laplace (1749-1827) proved the stability of the Solar System and produced the nebular hypothesis to explain its formation.
Academic text (2007) -
The nebular hypothesis suggests that the solar system formed from a cloud of gas and dust.
-
According to the nebular hypothesis, the sun and planets originated from a hot, rotating nebula.
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'nebular' (relating to nebulae) + 'hypothesis' (an explanation), so a learner who knows both words will infer it denotes a hypothesis about nebulae. While the detailed scientific claim (formation of the solar system) is domain-specific, the basic meaning is directly and compositionally derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Nebular hypothesis comes from nebular, from the Latin word nebula meaning 'cloud', and hypothesis meaning 'an idea'. Imagine a large spinning cloud of gas and dust slowly pulling together to make the sun and planets, and that's why the phrase means 'the idea that the solar system formed from a cloud'.
