metacentre
/ˈmɛtəsɛntə/ noun
Forms metacentres metacenter
- noun (physics, nautical) The point where a vertical line through a tilted vessel's center of buoyancy intersects the originally-vertical (but-now-tilted) line that passed through the center of buoyancy when the vessel was upright; it must be above the vessel's center of gravity for the vessel to have positive static stability (to tend to return to an upright orientation if rolled to one side, rather than to continue rolling to an inverted orientation).
Synonyms
Etymology
From French métacentre or meta- + centre.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The point of intersection of a vertical line through the center of gravity of the fluid displaced by a floating body which is tipped through a small angle from its position of equilibrium, and the inclined line which was vertical through the center of gravity of the body when in equilibrium.
Etymology [Pref. meta- + center.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “metacentre”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details