Path length

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(Redirected from Length of path)

Path length can refer to:

Physics[edit]

  • Distance, the total distance an object travels dependent on its path through space
  • Optical path length, the product of the distance light travels and the refractive index of the medium it travels through
  • Mean free path, the average distance that a particle travels before scattering
  • Radiation length, a characteristic length for the decay of radiation in a medium

Networks and computing[edit]

  • Average path length, the average number of steps along the shortest paths for all possible pairs of network nodes
  • Hop count, the number of intermediate network devices through which data must pass between source and destination in a computer network
  • Instruction path length, the number of machine code instructions required to execute a section of a computer program