the layer of air near the earth is cooler than an overlying layer
<noun.phenomenon>
abnormal condition in which an organ is turned inward or inside out (as when the upper part of the uterus is pulled into the cervical canal after childbirth)
<noun.state>
a chemical process in which the direction of optical rotation of a substance is reversed from dextrorotatory to levorotary or vice versa
<noun.process>
(genetics) a kind of mutation in which the order of the genes in a section of a chromosome is reversed
<noun.event>
the reversal of the normal order of words
<noun.communication>
(counterpoint) a variation of a melody or part in which ascending intervals are replaced by descending intervals and vice versa
<noun.communication>
a term formerly used to mean taking on the gender role of the opposite sex
<noun.act>
turning upside down; setting on end
<noun.act>
the act of turning inside out
<noun.act>
Inversion \In*ver"sion\, n. [L. inversio: cf. F. inversion. See {Invert}.] 1. The act of inverting, or turning over or backward, or the state of being inverted.
2. A change by inverted order; a reversed position or arrangement of things; transposition.
It is just the inversion of an act of Parliament; your lordship first signed it, and then it was passed among the Lords and Commons. --Dryden.
3. (Mil.) A movement in tactics by which the order of companies in line is inverted, the right being on the left, the left on the right, and so on.
4. (Math.) A change in the order of the terms of a proportion, so that the second takes the place of the first, and the fourth of the third.
5. (Geom.) A peculiar method of transformation, in which a figure is replaced by its inverse figure. Propositions that are true for the original figure thus furnish new propositions that are true in the inverse figure. See {Inverse figures}, under {Inverse}.
6. (Gram.) A change of the usual order of words or phrases; as, ``of all vices, impurity is one of the most detestable,'' instead of, ``impurity is one of the most detestable of all vices.''
7. (Rhet.) A method of reasoning in which the orator shows that arguments advanced by his adversary in opposition to him are really favorable to his cause.
8. (Mus.) (a) Said of intervals, when the lower tone is placed an octave higher, so that fifths become fourths, thirds sixths, etc. (b) Said of a chord, when one of its notes, other than its root, is made the bass. (c) Said of a subject, or phrase, when the intervals of which it consists are repeated in the contrary direction, rising instead of falling, or vice versa. (d) Said of double counterpoint, when an upper and a lower part change places.
9. (Geol.) The folding back of strata upon themselves, as by upheaval, in such a manner that the order of succession appears to be reversed.
10. (Chem.) The act or process by which cane sugar (sucrose), under the action of heat and acids or enzymes (as diastase), is broken or split up into grape sugar (dextrose), and fruit sugar (levulose); also, less properly, the process by which starch is converted into grape sugar (dextrose).
Note: The terms invert and inversion, in this sense, owe their meaning to the fact that the plane of polarization of light, which is rotated to the right by cane sugar, is turned toward the left by levulose.
11. (Meteorology) A reversal of the usual temperature gradient of the atmosphere, in which the temperature increases with increased altitude, rather than falling. Called also temperature inversion.
Note: This condition in the vicinity of cities can give rise to a severe episode of atmospheric pollution, as it inhibits normal circulation of the air. [PJC]
12. (Electricity) The conversion of direct current into alternating current; the inverse of rectification. See {inverted rectifier}. [PJC]
13. (Genetics) A portion of the genome in which the DNA has been turned around, and runs in a direction opposite to its normal direction, and consequently the genes are present in the reverse of their usual order. [PJC]
"If it holds through the night, we'll consider releasing some people tomorrow," said Iverson, planning chief for the 2,788-member firefighting force. "We're looking forward to another inversion layer Wednesday.
He said the forest fire smoke in California actually intensified the temperature inversion that caused the smoke to hang in the air for weeks.
"I believe the price inversion we are now seeing, where the March contract is selling for a premium to the May contract, is a sign of a real bull market," he said.
Bridgestone is an inversion of the English translation of the founder's name, Ishibashi, or stone bridge.
The one drawback to the weather was an air inversion that forced the grounding of eight aerial tankers, which had dropped more than 2,000 tons of fire retardant on the blaze Sunday and Monday.
The increased radiation measurements may have been caused by an unstable weather inversion over the region, the report said.
Banque Paribas noted that its 1989 performance was marked by narrower margins on loan activity, following an inversion of the yield curve in France.
Others have noticed that not very kind comment; but it is the truth about the matter - Shakespeare needed the young patron for support during those plague years. There is a similar inversion of sense when we come to All's Well that Ends Well.
The bund market had hoped for a more marked slowdown in money supply growth. Dealers reported good demand for long-dated bunds later in the day, with some outright buying and lengthening trades leading to a further inversion of the yield curve.
The phenomenon is known as a thermal inversion.
During the Korean War there was the same inversion.
Almost always, when recessions have developed, short-term rates have exceeded long-term ones, a situation that economists call an inversion of the yield curve.
I can only imagine what Madison or Holmes would have thought of this inversion of the theory of free expression.