Orbital may refer to:

Sciences

Chemistry and physics

Atomic orbital In atomic theory and quantum mechanics, an atomic orbital is a function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in an atom. This function can be used to calculate the probability of finding any electron of an atom in any spe ...

Molecular orbital In chemistry, a molecular orbital is a mathematical function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in a molecule. This function can be used to calculate chemical and physical properties such as the probability of finding ...

* Hybrid orbital

Astronomy and space flight

Orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

Earth orbit Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 149.60 million km (92.96 million mi) in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere. One complete orbit takes days (1 sidereal year), during which time Earth ...

Medicine and physiology

Orbit (anatomy) In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , of ...

, also known as the ''orbital bone'' *

Orbitofrontal cortex The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a prefrontal cortex region in the frontal lobes of the brain which is involved in the cognitive process of decision-making. In non-human primates it consists of the association cortex areas Brodmann area 11, 12 ...

, a part of the brain used for decision making

Business

Orbital Corporation Orbital Corporation Limited (), formerly Orbital Engine Corporation Limited pioneered by Ralph Sarich, is an Australian company based in Balcatta, Western Australia, that aims to provide clean engine technologies and alternative fuel systems ...

, an Australian engine technology company *

Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...

, a U.S. satellite launch and defense systems corporation *

Orbital ATK Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...

, American aerospace manufacturer formed from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems

Transportation

Ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

(or ''orbital road'' in some regions) *

Orbital (metro) A circle route (also circumference, loop, ring route, ring line or orbital line) is a public transport route following a path approximating a circle or at least a closed curve. The expression "circle route" may refer in particular to: * a rout ...

, a rapid transit line usually encircling a city centre *

Orbital engine The Sarich orbital engine is a type of internal combustion engine, invented in 1972 by Ralph Sarich, an engineer from Perth, Australia, which features orbital rather than reciprocating motion of its central piston. It differs from the conceptual ...

Other uses

Orbital (The Culture) The Culture is a fictional interstellar post-scarcity civilisation or society created by the Scottish writer Iain M. Banks and features in a number of his space opera novels and works of short fiction, collectively called the Culture series. ...

, artificial worlds from Iain M. Banks's series of science fiction novels, the Culture *

Orbital (band) Orbital are an English electronic music duo from Otford, Kent, England, consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. The band's name is taken from Greater London's orbital motorway, the M25, which was central to the early rave scene during ...

, an English electronic dance music duo ** ''Orbital'' (1991 album) ** ''Orbital'' (1993 album) * ''Orbital'' (comics), a Franco-Belgian science fiction comics series *

Orbital piercing An orbital piercing is a combination of two ear piercing An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). E ...