scalar

Meaning

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Having magnitude but not direction.
2. (not-comparable) Consisting of a single value (e.g. integer or string) rather than multiple values (e.g. array).
3. (not-comparable) Of, or relating to scale.
4. (not-comparable) Of or pertaining to a musical scale.
5. (not-comparable) Relating to particles with a spin (quantum angular momentum) of 0 (known as spin 0).
6. (not-comparable) Pertaining to the dimension on which something is measured.

Noun

1. A quantity that has magnitude but not direction; compare vector.
2. An amplifier whose output is a constant multiple of its input.

Synonyms

scalar quantity

net measure

Translations

scalaire

escalar

escalar

scalare

Skalar

skalar

scalar

escalar

sayıl

skalar

كمية عددية

كمية لا موجهة

in Zahlen aufgeteilt

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin scālāris, adjectival form from scāla (“a flight of steps, stairs, staircase, ladder, scale”), for *scadla, from scandere (“to climb”); compare scale. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.