inverse-square law
Noun
Meaning
inverse-square law (plural inverse-square laws)
(physics) any physical law, such as that of gravitation, in which a quantity varies inversely with distance from a source as the square of that distance
Alternative names
inverse square law
Examples
Due to the inverse square law, the radiation at perihelion is about 106.9% the energy at aphelion.
Sound intensity (sound energy, or propensity to cause damage to the ears) increases dramatically with proximity according to an inverse square law: halving the distance to the sound quadruples the sound intensity.
His ideas about gravitation, and his claim of priority for the inverse square law, are outlined below.
Hooke's statements up to 1674 made no mention, however, that an inverse square law applies or might apply to these attractions.
However, he retracted this sentence in the published version, where he stated that the motion of planets is consistent with an inverse square law, but refused to speculate on the origin of the law.
In his notes, Newton wrote that the inverse square law arose naturally due to the structure of matter.