See Also: tensor(dictionary)
tensor(medicine)
tensor analysis(encyclopedia)
Ricci tensor(dictionary)
tensor tympani(medicine)
tensor fascia lata(medicine)
tensor tarsi muscle(medicine)
musculus tensor tympani(medicine)
musculus tensor tarsi(medicine)
musculus tensor palati(medicine)

tensor (iou)



tensor noun. E18.
[mod. Latin, from Latin tendere stretch (in sense 2 after vector): see -OR.]
1. Anatomy. A muscle that stretches or tightens some part. Also tensor muscle. E18.
2. Math.
a. In quaternions, a quantity expressing the ratio in which the length of a vector is increased. M-L19.
b. An abstract entity represented by an array of components that are functions of coordinates such that, under a transformation of coordinates, the new components are related to the transformation and to the original components in a definite way. E20.
Comb.: tensor field a field for which a tensor is defined at each point; tensor force a force between two bodies that has to be expressed as a tensor rather than a vector, esp. a non-central force between subatomic particles.
tensorial adjective M20.