An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An electric → charge distribution consisting of more than four → positive and → negative → electric charges located at a small distance from each other. The multipole concept is an extension of the → electric quadrupole. For the generalized multipole characterized by the letter l, the potential at a distance r varies as 1/r^{l + 1} and the field intensity as 1/r^{l + 2}.

See also: → electric; → multipole.