Construct · 2 fields · 3 citations

Where does cross section collide?

One name. Different field. Different construct. One map.

● jingle · one word, two constructs Nearest construct by meaningpanelcompare the meanings
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crosssection2 CONSTRUCTSScattering areaRUTHERFORD · BARNSCross-sectional dataSNAPSHOT · ONE MOMENT

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1911Scattering area2009Cross-sectional data
2026

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Particle and nuclear physics

Effective area for an interaction, in barns

In particle and nuclear physics, a cross section is an effective area that quantifies how likely a scattering or reaction event is when two particles meet, reported in barns, where one barn equals 10 to the power minus 28 square metres. Rutherford's 1911 analysis of how alpha particles are deflected by atoms produced the formula for that probability and is the origin of the scattering cross section that carries his name. The referent is a probability written as an area, fixed by the physics of the interaction, not a physical slice through tissue and not a table of data collected at one time.[1]

Unit
An effective area for one interaction, scaled in barns (1 barn = 10^-28 square metres)
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Inferred from event counts as the reaction rate divided by the incident particle flux and the number of target particles

Econometrics and statistics

Data on many units at one time point

In econometrics and statistics, cross-sectional data means observations of many separate units, such as people, households, firms, or countries, all recorded at a single point in time, in contrast with time-series data, which follows one unit over many periods, and panel data, which follows many units over many periods. Wooldridge's 2010 Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data and Gujarati and Porter's 2009 Basic Econometrics set out how such data are structured and analysed across units. The referent is the time structure of a dataset, a snapshot taken across units at one moment, not a plane cut through tissue and not an effective area measuring how particles interact.[2][3]

Unit
One dataset of many units observed at the same point in time
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Assembled from a survey or census taken at one time, then analysed by regression across the units

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Nearby collisions

section1 fields · 2 citationsanchor · a standalone constructslice2 fields · 2 citationsjingle · one word, two constructsnucleus4 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Rutherford, E. (1911). The scattering of α and β particles by matter and the structure of the atom. Philosophical Magazine, Series 6, 21(125), 669–688. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786440508637080
  2. Wooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  3. Gujarati, D. N., & Porter, D. C. (2009). Basic econometrics (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

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