mass loss
Matter going away
Mass loss is the reduction of an object's mass over time, typically through physical processes.
In astrophysics, stars undergo mass loss via stellar winds or explosive events: The dying star's mass loss accelerated as it expanded.
In medicine and fitness, mass loss often refers specifically to muscle or body mass: Patients experienced significant mass loss during chemotherapy.
The term also applies to materials science, where substances lose mass through evaporation, erosion, or chemical reaction.
- stellar windStar's ejected particle stream
- red giantAged star with cooled, expanded envelope
- fading starCelebrity past their prime
- vaporizationConversion to gas
- crash dietDrastic short-term weight-loss regimen
sublimation · ablation · supernova · caloric deficit · planetary nebula · dehydration · sputtering · corrosion · catabolism · glacier retreat · melting away · white dwarf · soil erosion · delamination · stripping away · burning off · thinning · comet tail
- AGB Starspulsation
- starsstars, Sirius, Polaris, sol, sun
- stellar propertiesluminosity, surface temperature, magnitude, brightness, stellar wind
- nuclear physicsnuclear energy, fission, nuclear fission, neutron, proton
- glacier meltmelting, meltwater, ice melt, glacial retreat, glacier retreat
- stellar phenomenasupernova, nova, star formation, nuclear fusion, nucleosynthesis
mass lossweight gain
Body mass accumulation
accretion · accumulation · material gain · deposition · aggregation