angle of dip
- noun
- Specialized
:
ángulo de inclinación
- At the magnetic equator, the angle of dip is zero, indicating a horizontal field.
Examples
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He measured the angle of dip with a special instrument called a dip circle.
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Geologists use the angle of dip to study variations in Earth's magnetic field.
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He measured the angle of dip with a special instrument called a dip circle.
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The angle of dip varies from place to place.
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What is the angle of dip at this location?
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At the magnetic equator, the angle of dip is zero, indicating a horizontal field.
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Geologists use the angle of dip to study variations in Earth's magnetic field.
Synonyms
5
6.3
The angle or tilt of something compared with a flat line
1
8.3
The angle a magnetic needle makes with the horizontal
The tilt between Earth's magnetic field and the flat ground at a place
An angle between the Earth's magnetic field and the ground
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'angle' + 'of' + 'dip' links the general noun 'angle' to 'dip', which (given) specifically denotes the local magnetic inclination. A learner who knows the constituent meanings can directly infer that this refers to the angle describing magnetic dip, a transparent technical naming pattern found across languages.
Etymology
The term angle of dip comes from watching a compass needle that does not stay level but 'dips' toward the ground. The dip is how much the needle leans and the angle is the number that measures that 'tilt', so the phrase means the measured tilt of Earth's magnetic field.