English

Adjective

virial ‎(not comparable)

1. (mechanics) Of or pertaining to the interactive forces between molecules or particles

Noun

virial ‎(plural virials)

1. (mechanics) Half of the product of the stress of attraction or repulsion with the distance between two particles.
   • 1875, James Clerk Maxwell, On the Dynamical Evidence of the Molecular Constitution of Bodies, Nature 11 (1875), 357-359, 374-377,

     The quantity 1/2 Rr, or half the product of the attraction into the distance across which the attraction is exerted, is defined by Clausis [Prof. Clausis of Bonn] as the virial of the attraction. (In the case of pressure or repulsion, the virial is negative.)

Etymology 2

Adjective

virial ‎(not comparable)

1. Misspelling of viral.