orbital

Connected with the path of a planet, moon, or spacecraft around another object in space.

• The satellite reached its orbital position.
• Earth’s orbital period is about one year.
• Engineers adjusted the spacecraft’s orbital speed.

Common phrases: orbital path, orbital speed, orbital period, orbital motion

Going around the outside of a town or city, rather than through its center.

• The orbital road carries traffic around the city.
• We took an orbital route to avoid the center.
• An accident closed part of the orbital motorway.

Common phrases: orbital road, orbital motorway, orbital route

A mathematical description of an electron’s energy and where it is likely to be in an atom or molecule.

• The electron occupies an orbital with low energy.
• Two electrons can share the same orbital.
• The diagram shows the shapes of several atomic orbitals.

Common phrases: atomic orbital, molecular orbital, occupied orbital