Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Intensity


Pronunciation: \in-ˈten(t)-sə-tē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural in·ten·si·ties

The quality or state of being intense; especially : extreme degree of strength, force, energy, or feeling, intenseness; extreme degree; as, intensity of heat, cold, mental application, passion, etc.

The magnitude of a quantity (as force or energy) per unit (as of area, charge, mass, or time)

The amount or degree of energy with which a force operates or a cause acts; effectiveness, as estimated by results produced.

The magnitude of a distributed force, as pressure, stress, weight, etc., per unit of surface, or of volume, as the case may be; as, the measure of the intensity of a total stress of forty pounds which is distributed uniformly over a surface of four square inches area is ten pounds per square inch.

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.
- Thomas Merton

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