| 释义 |
levitation|lɛvɪˈteɪʃən|
[f. levitate v. (see -ation).]
1. a. The action or process or levitating or rising in virtue of lightness. Opposed to gravitation 1. (In mod. use chiefly transf. from 1 b.)
1668H. More Div. Dial. i. ix. (1713) 18 There being no such hard Pressure, no Levitation or Gravitation. 1802Paley Nat. Theol. xii. §6 (1819) 206 The lungs also of birds contain in them a provision distinguishingly calculated for..levitation. 1902Q. Rev. July 125 Many such victims of levitation [sc. deep-sea fishes] have been picked up at sea. 1909H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay iii. iii. 364, I lay in my customary glider position, horizontal and face downward, and the invisibility of all the machinery gave an extraordinary effect of independent levitation. 1966New Statesman 18 Feb. 242/3 (Advt.), Atmospheric levitation. Learn to glide.
b. The action or process of rising, or raising (a body), from the ground by ‘spiritualistic’ means.
1874Geo. Eliot Legend of Jubal 191 On all points he adopts the latest views; Takes for the key of universal Mind The ‘levitation’ of stout gentlemen. 1875Fam. Herald 13 Nov. 29/2 Levitation is an old claim of the marvellous, as old as Pythagoras. 1881Times 30 Mar. 11/6 Levitation..or moving at will,..wholly independent of the laws of gravitation, is a universal dream. 1888Besant Herr Paulus 89 The séances, manifestations, levitations [etc.].
c. The process of raising or supporting by invisible means something heavier than the surrounding fluid. Cf. levitate v. 2 b.
1939Gen. Electric Rev. XLII. 231 (caption) As if by magic the shallow metallic dish rises into the air and appears to obey the gestures of the demonstrator's hand. Actually, the levitation results from a special application of electromagnetic principles. 1952Jrnl. Electrochem. Soc. XCIX. 205 Stable levitation..of various metals in the solid state was obtained between the coils..both in air and in vacuum. 1952Jrnl. Appl. Physics XXIII. 552/1 If electromagnetic levitation can be expanded to a larger scale, the following advantages can be anticipated: 1. The specimen touches no crucible or container during the heating, melting and drainage stages. 2. The heated or molten specimen can be protected by a suitable atmosphere or a vacuum. [Etc.] 1956Philips Res. Rep. XI. 45 The possibilities..of levitation by auxiliary gravitational forces, by reaction forces and by forces in electromagnetic fields are investigated. 1961Lancet 25 Nov. 1181/1 Levitation. It occurred to me that supporting a patient on air might solve some of the problems of nursing patients whose illness necessitates the avoidance of contact with their beds. 1971Observer 28 Nov. 9/4 ‘Magnetic levitation’..could turn out to be the most important advance in transport technology since the internal combustion engine.
†2. The action or process of becoming lighter; also, the quality of being comparatively light; = buoyancy. Obs.
1686Goad Celest. Bodies ii. v. 221 The Currents in the Sea, as all Tides, are made by Levitation of the Humid Body. 1739C. Labelye Short Acc. Piers Westm. Bridge 25 The Sides must rise by their own Levitation or Buoyancy.
3. fig.
1909Q. Rev. Jan. 78 In other words, it [sc. Labour] obeys its own law of economic levitation, if we may be permitted to coin a phrase. 1962W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use vi. 123 The poet..has not yet figured as one who soars into a sphere where diction takes forms so conspicuously unprosaic..that [etc.]... It is my purpose now to begin to enquire at what point levitation into such a sphere may be said to have taken place. 1966New Statesman 28 Jan. 138/3 In his third phase..Tippett concentrates on the spiritual ‘levitation’ effected by his winging lines and springing rhythms.
So leviˈtational a., of or pertaining to levitation.
1903Edin Rev. Apr. 329 These people sought..for a levitational quality akin to the dormitive quality of opium, but never found it. 1912J. Stephens Crock of Gold v. xiv. 206 Birds have atmospheric and levitational information which millions of years will not render accessible to us. 1969New Scientist 17 Apr. 117/1 If the curve is anti-spatial (particle extinction) the field is anti-gravitational or levitational. |