infalling
Drawn toward center
Infalling describes something falling inward toward a center, particularly in astrophysics.
Infalling matter spirals toward a black hole or star, accelerating as gravity pulls it in: The infalling gas heated to millions of degrees.
The term appears almost exclusively in scientific contexts discussing gravitational collapse or accretion.
Growth through external addition
- black holeCollapsed star's remnant
- event horizonBlack hole's edge
- singularityPoint where values explode
- orbitCurved celestial path
freefall · gravitational pull · mass · spacetime · curvature · tidal forces · neutron star · escape velocity
Process of taking in
- swallowingIngesting via throat muscles
- envelopingSurrounding on all sides
- subsumingAbsorbing into something larger
- consumingUsing up entirely
drawing in · immersion · enclosure · entrapment · assimilation · incorporation · suction · inhalation
Sport of exploring caverns
- subsidenceGradual ground sinking
- sinkholeUnderground collapse crater
- settlingReaching resolution or rest
- saggingBending downward weakly
slumping · crumbling · buckling · giving way · cave-in · depression · compression · implosion
accretion
Growth through external addition
- black holeCollapsed star's remnant
- event horizonBlack hole's edge
- singularityPoint where values explode
orbit · freefall · gravitational pull · mass · spacetime · curvature · tidal forces · neutron star · escape velocity · trajectory
absorption
Process of taking in
- swallowingIngesting via throat muscles
- envelopingSurrounding on all sides
- subsumingAbsorbing into something larger
consuming · drawing in · immersion · enclosure · entrapment · assimilation · incorporation · suction · inhalation · surrounding
caving
Sport of exploring caverns
- subsidenceGradual ground sinking
- sinkholeUnderground collapse crater
- settlingReaching resolution or rest
sagging · slumping · crumbling · buckling · giving way · cave-in · depression · compression · implosion · downward
infallingescaping
Departing confinement hastily
outflowing · unbound · liberated · evaporating · dissipating
- papal infallibilityPontiff's error-free teaching authority