An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A system of numbers or functions where components obey a certain law of transformation when the variables undergo a linear transformation. A tensor may consist of a single number, in which case it is referred to as a tensor of order zero, or simply a → scalar. The tensor of order one represents a → vector. Similarly there will be tensors of order two, three, and so on.

See also:
→ absolute tensor, → calculus of tensors, → contravariant tensor, → covariant tensor, → Einstein tensor, → energy-momentum tensor, → metric tensor, → order of a tensor, → relative tensor, → Ricci tensor, → Riemann curvature tensor, → scalar-tensor theory, → skew-symmetric tensor, → symmetric tensor, → tensor analysis, → tensor contraction, → tensor density, → tensor field, → tensor perturbation, → tensor rank, → tensor-vector-scalar (TeVeS) theory, → weight of a tensor.

See also: Agent noun of tense (v.) → tension.