cross section

a flat plane cutting through a three-dimensional object, usually at right angles to the longest axis of the object.

any visual representation of a cross section{1}, showing the internal structure of the object in the plane of the cross section; as, the technician prepared a series of MRI cross sections of the skull. See: cross section{1}

a thin slice of an object made by cutting it transversely; as, to view a cross section of a bacterium with an electron microscope after staining the DNA; cross sections were prepared with a microtome.

a representative sample of a complex group; as, the town contained a cross section of the American population.

a measure of the probability that a nucleus will interact in a specified way with a bombarding particle, expressed as the effective area that the nucleus presents to the particle; -- called also nuclear cross section.(Physics) Also: nuclear cross section

to create one or a series of cross sections{3} by cutting (an object) into thin slices. See: cross sections{3}