METASTABLE


Meaning of METASTABLE in English

— metastability /met'euh steuh bil"i tee/ , n.

/met"euh stay'beuhl, met'euh stay"-/ , adj.

1. Metall. chemically unstable in the absence of certain conditions that would induce stability, but not liable to spontaneous transformation.

2. Also, labile . Physics, Chem. pertaining to a body or system existing at an energy level (metastable state) above that of a more stable state and requiring the addition of a small amount of energy to induce a transition to the more stable state.

[ 1895-1900; META- + STABLE 2 ]

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .