See Also: Poisson(dictionary)
Poisson distribution(medicine)
Poisson, Simeon Denis(medicine)
Poisson-Pearson formula(medicine)
Pompadour, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, marchioness de(encyclopedia)

Poisson (iou)



Poisson noun. E20.
[S. D. Poisson (1781-1840), French mathematician and physicist.]
Math. Used attrib. and in possess. to designate mathematical and statistical concepts introduced or discussed by Poisson.
Poisson distribution a discrete frequency distribution which gives the probability of x independent events occurring in a fixed time and takes the form emmx/x! where m is a parameter and e = 2.718... . Poisson law, Poisson's law: expressed by the Poisson distribution. Poisson's ratio the ratio of the proportional decrease in a lateral measurement to the proportional increase in length in a sample of material that is elastically stretched.
Poissonian adjective of, pertaining to, or designating the Poisson distribution E20.