geostaticadj.
/ˌdʒiːə(ʊ)ˈstatɪk/, /dʒɪəˈstatɪk/, U.S. /ˌdʒioʊˈstædɪk/ 1. Engineering and Geology. Designating pressure exerted by overlying soil or rock; of or relating to such pressure. Also: capable of sustaining such pressure. Cf. hydrostatic adj. 1.geostatic arch: see Compounds.
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1858 W. J. M. Rankine Man. Appl. Mech. ii. ii. 196 It is proposed, by the term ‘Geostatic Arch’, to denote a linear arch of a figure suited to sustain a pressure similar to that of earth.
1892 I. O. Baker Treat. Masonry Constr. (ed. 7) 485 The geostatic curve can be produced from that of the hydrostatic curve by increasing or decreasing one set of ordinates without altering the other.
1893 J. B. Johnson et al. Theory & Pract. Mod. Framed Structures 419 For any wall resisting geostatic pressure the theoretical line of the face is a curve.
1965 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 258 305 The geostatic pressure on the focal areas of deep focus earthquakes can be more than 200kb.
1999 Oil & Gas Jrnl. (Nexis) 25 Oct. 57 The simulator can test drill bits up to 12/4 in. in diameter under geostatic stresses equivalent to 22,000 ft.
2010 I. Basov tr. V. I. Djunin & A. V. Korzun Hydrogeodynamics Oil & Gas Basins vi. 113 Geostatic compression is one of the most significant processes.
2. History of Science. Designating the world view of the earth as stationary in the cosmos; of or relating to this view.
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1941 L. Thorndike Hist. Magic & Exper. Sci. V. xviii. 423 The Ptolemaic system was devised to represent things as they appear to an observer on the earth who supposes himself to be at rest... It might be more appropriate, therefore, to designate the Ptolemaic system as geostatic and the Copernican as geodynamic.
1954 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 5 255 Kepler showed that some geostatic systems, the Ptolemaic and Tychonian, could be used almost as conveniently as the heliostatic system.
1983 M. R. Gardner in J. Earman Testing Sci. Theories iv. 257 Finally, Kepler argued, since the earth's heliostatic orbit is circular with constant speed, it follows that the sun's geostatic orbit shows no retrogression.
2008 M. A. Finocchiaro in W. A. Wallace Reinterpreting Galileo vi. 264 Galileo argues that this passage contradicts the geostatic system, whereas it could be given a literal interpretation from the Copernican viewpoint.
Compounds
geostatic arch n. now rare an arch designed to sustain pressure exerted by overlying soil or rock; cf. hydrostatic arch n. at hydrostatic adj. Compounds 1.
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1858Geostatic arch [see sense 1].
1884 T. M. Cleemann Railroad Engineer's Pract. (ed. 3) 43 If the embankment over the arch is very high, or if the arch is the lining to a tunnel in earth, the proper form for the intrados is a geostatic arch.
1909 H. G. Tyrrell Concrete Bridges & Culverts 25 The geostatic arch bears the same relation to the hydrostatic arch as the ellipse does to the circle.
1956 Trans. Inst. Mining Engineers 115 707 A final design was prepared using a geostatic arch form.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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