Sentence:  If such is the case , the particles within a distance of about * * f km of the Earth will have , relative to the Earth , a kinetic energy <WSD>less</WSD> than their potential energy and they will be captured into orbits about the Earth . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree