Maclaurin spheroid
E468354
A Maclaurin spheroid is an oblate, rotationally symmetric ellipsoidal figure used in astrophysics and geophysics to model the equilibrium shape of a uniformly rotating, self-gravitating fluid body.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
astrophysical model
ⓘ
equilibrium figure ⓘ geophysical model ⓘ oblate spheroid ⓘ rotational ellipsoid ⓘ |
| assumes |
incompressible fluid
ⓘ
rigid-body rotation ⓘ uniform density ⓘ |
| belongsTo | theory of figures of equilibrium ⓘ |
| definedBy |
semi-major axis a
ⓘ
semi-minor axis c ⓘ |
| describedBy | Maclaurin’s formula for angular velocity vs eccentricity ⓘ |
| hasAxisRelation | a = b > c ⓘ |
| hasCoordinateSystem | spheroidal coordinates ⓘ |
| hasDimension | three-dimensional ⓘ |
| hasEccentricity | e = sqrt(1 - c^2/a^2) ⓘ |
| hasFlattening | f = (a - c)/a ⓘ |
| hasLimitingSequence | Jacobi sequence of triaxial ellipsoids ⓘ |
| hasParameter |
angular velocity
ⓘ
mass ⓘ mean density ⓘ |
| hasPotential | combined gravitational and centrifugal potential ⓘ |
| hasPotentialApplication |
gravitational field modeling of planets
ⓘ
internal structure inference of rotating bodies ⓘ |
| hasShape | oblate ellipsoid ⓘ |
| hasSymmetry |
axial symmetry
ⓘ
rotational symmetry ⓘ |
| inEquilibriumUnder |
centrifugal force
ⓘ
hydrostatic pressure ⓘ self-gravity ⓘ |
| models |
equilibrium shape of rotating planets
ⓘ
equilibrium shape of rotating stars ⓘ self-gravitating fluid body ⓘ uniformly rotating fluid body ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Colin Maclaurin NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Jacobi ellipsoid
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Roche model NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| satisfies | hydrostatic equilibrium ⓘ |
| specialCaseOf |
axisymmetric ellipsoid
ⓘ
equilibrium figure of rotating fluid ⓘ |
| usedIn |
astrophysics
ⓘ
geophysics ⓘ planetary science ⓘ stellar structure theory ⓘ |
| usedToApproximate |
shape of gas giant planets
ⓘ
shape of rapidly rotating stars ⓘ shape of rotating fluid planets ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.