Word.ws English Dictionary

Thomson problem

Thomson problem proper noun: the problem of determining the minimum electrostatic potential energy configuration of a given number of electrons constrained to the surface of a unit sphere that repel each other with a force given by Coulomb's law.

Proper noun

the Thomson problem

  1. The problem of determining the minimum electrostatic potential energy configuration of a given number of electrons constrained to the surface of a unit sphere that repel each other with a force given by Coulomb's law.

Origin of Thomson problem

The physicist J. J. Thomson posed the problem in 1904.

Questions about Thomson problem

What does Thomson problem mean?
Thomson problem means the problem of determining the minimum electrostatic potential energy configuration of a given number of electrons constrained to the surface of a unit sphere that repel each other with a force given by Coulomb's law.
What part of speech is Thomson problem?
Thomson problem is a proper noun.

Words near Thomson problem in the dictionary

  1. thomsenolite
  2. Thomsett
  3. Thomson
  4. Thomson effect
  5. Thomson effects
  6. Thomson problem
  7. Thomson process
  8. Thomson's gazelle
  9. Thomson's gazelles
  10. Thomson's hypothesis
  11. Thomson's lamp

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Thomson problem (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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