phase space

American

noun

Physics.

a hypothetical space constructed so as to have as many coordinates as are necessary to define the state of a given substance or system.

Etymology

Origin of phase space

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If you don’t know what “phase space” or “vector space” is, then stay away!

From The Wall Street Journal

To ponder this problem, physicists have abandoned the familiar backdrop of 3D space and moved to an abstract arena known as “phase space.”

From Scientific American

For instance, Thorne and Blandford's geometrical approach leads directly to the invariant number density of states in phase space in relativity.

From Nature

Rather than true probability, negative values make this a quasi-probability distribution in phase space.

From Nature

Floating in a boundless inter-dimensional phase space, Strange sees an “S” of earths collapsing into red cosmic dust, headed toward a galactic spire of doom.

From The Guardian

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023