In astrophysics, a magnetic mirror point is a point where the motion of a charged particle trapped in a magnetic field (such as the Earth's) reverses its direction. More precisely, it is the point where the projection of the particle's velocity vector in the direction of the field vector is equal to zero.
Famous quotes containing the words magnetic, mirror and/or point:
“We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Some moralist or mythological poet
Compares the solitary soul to a swan;
I am satisfied with that,
Satisfied if a troubled mirror show it,
Before that brief gleam of its life be gone....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Parents who want a fresh point of view on their furniture are advised to drop down on all fours and accompany the nine or ten month old on his rounds. It is probably many years since you last studied the underside of a dining room chair. The ten month old will study this marvel with as much concentration and reverence as a tourist in the Cathedral of Chartres.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)