Equivalent spherical diameter
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In science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, the equivalent spherical diameter (or ESD) of an irregularly-shaped object is the diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...

 of a sphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...

 of equivalent volume
Volume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....

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According to the IUPAC definition, the equivalent diameter of a non-spherical particle is equal to a diameter of a spherical particle that exhibits identical property (e.g., aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, optical, electrical) to that of the investigated non-spherical particle. For particles in non-turbulent motion, the equivalent diameter is identical to the diameter encountered in the Stokes' law
Stokes' law
In 1851, George Gabriel Stokes derived an expression, now known as Stokes' law, for the frictional force – also called drag force – exerted on spherical objects with very small Reynolds numbers in a continuous viscous fluid...

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