star

Sranan Tongo: stari
Aukan: sitali

→ Finnish: stara

→ French: star

→ German: Star

→ Italian: star

→ Swahili: staa

From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster, stella, étoile, and estoile.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots starn, ster, North Frisian steer, West Frisian stjer, Saterland Frisian Stiern, Dutch ster, Luxembourgish Stär, German Stern, Yiddish שטערן (shtern), Vilamovian śtaom, Swedish stjärna, Norwegian stjerne, Icelandic stjarna, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō), Spanish estrella, Portuguese estrela, Italian stella, Romanian stea, Occitan estela, Venetian stéła, Sicilian stidda, Sardinian isteddu, Mirandese streilha, Walloon sitoele, Romansch staila, Megleno-Romanian steau̯ă, Istriot stila, Istro-Romanian ste, Latin stēlla, Greek αστέρι (astéri), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr), Old Armenian աստղ (astł), Persian ستاره (setâre), Tajik ситора (sitora), Pashto ستوری (storay), Mazanderani اساره (ëssâre), Northern Kurdish stêr, Central Kurdish ئەستێرە (estêre), Zazaki astare, Ossetian стъалы (st’aly), Hindi तारा (tārā), Urdu تارا (tārā), Punjabi ਤਾਰਾ (tārā), Gujarati તારો (tāro), Sanskrit तारा (tārā).

аеҵǝа

a celestial body appearing as a point of light on the clear night sky, whose position is relatively fixed with respect to each other

(astronomy) A spheroid of plasma with sufficient gravity to fuse hydrogen or heavier elements into heavier elements still. Depending on context the Sun may or may not be included.

نَجْم

(astronomy) a luminous celestial body made of plasma

A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.


cold fusion

Cold fusion (disambiguation)
cold fusion

A hypothetical form of nuclear fusion not requiring the usual immensely high temperatures; nuclear fusion at or near room temperature.


torch

The noun is derived from Middle English torch, torche (“large candle; lighted stick; (figurative) sunbeam”), from Old French torche, torque (“torch; bundle of (twisted) straw”) (modern French torche); further etymology uncertain, probably from Vulgar Latin *torca (“coiled object”) (referring to a torch made from twisted plant fibres dipped in a flammable substance such as pitch), from Latin torqua, a variant of torquis (“collar of twisted metal, torque; wreath”), from torqueō (“to twist, wind”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”).
Sense 2.3 (Verbascum thapsus) is either due to the plant’s spike of yellow flowers, or because its leaves and stalks were used to make torches (noun sense 1). Sense 3.2 (“precious cause, etc., which needs to be protected and transmitted to others”) is derived from Latin lampada trādere, from Ancient Greek λᾰμπᾰ́δᾰ πᾰρᾰδιδόναι (lampáda paradidónai, “to hand over the torch”), a reference to the torch race held at various festivals such as the Panathenaic Games in Ancient Greece, which involved a relay where a torch was passed from one runner to another.
The verb is derived from the noun.

cog

λᾰμπᾰ́δᾰ πᾰρᾰδιδόναι

sueo'

stick of wood, etc., with one end soaked in a flammable substance and set on fire; similarly shaped implement with a replaceable supply of flammable material

(science fiction) Short for torch drive (“a spacecraft engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion”).


torch

en-verb

torch (third-person singular simple present torches, present participle torching, simple past and past participle torched)

torches (present singular third-person)
torching (participle present)
torched (participle past)
torched (past)

cog

λᾰμπᾰ́δᾰ πᾰρᾰδιδόναι

(science fiction) To travel in a spacecraft propelled by a torch drive (“an engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion”).

to travel in a spacecraft propelled by a torch drive

matkustaa fuusiolla toimivalla avaruusaluksella


hydrogen bomb

A thermonuclear bomb that derives its destructive power from the fusion of isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium).


thermonuclear

I can't believe you gave me, a ten-year-old boy, a thermonuclear device [...]

2021 January 30, ISP, quoting iSorrowproductions, Beating Fallout 3 But Every Enemy Has A NUKE - Every Enemy Has A Fat Man Mod:

Of, or relating to the use of atomic weapons based on such fusion, especially as distinguished from those based on fission.


nuclear fusion

en-noun

nuclear fusion (usually uncountable, plural nuclear fusions)

The emergence of this new large-scale lab-based astrophysics was an unanticipated side effect of a much broader, more fraught, and now quite in-the-news scientific journey: the quest for nuclear fusion.

2023 January 3, Adam Frank, “The Universe Is More in Our Hands Than Ever Before”, in The Atlantic:

(nuclear physics) The combining of the nuclei of small atoms to form the nuclei of larger ones, with a resulting release of large quantities of energy; the process that makes the sun shine, and hydrogen bombs explode.

اِنْدِمَاج نَوَوِيّ

the combining of the nuclei of small atoms to form the nuclei of larger ones


fusion

fusion (countable and uncountable, plural fusions)

fission

antonym(s) of “nuclear reaction in which nuclei combine”

First appears c. 1555, in a translation by Richard Eden. From Middle French fusion, from Latin fūsiōnem (the accusative of fūsiō), from fusus, past participle of fundō (“I pour, I melt”) (see also found). Doublet of foison.

The act of merging separate elements, or the result thereof.

(physics) A nuclear reaction in which nuclei combine to form more massive nuclei with the concomitant release of energy.


protostar

/ˈpɹəʊtə(ʊ)stɑː/

-əʊtəʊstɑː(ɹ)

-əʊtəstɑː(ɹ)

From proto- + star. Compare later protostellar.

(astronomy) A collection of gas and dust in space with high temperature that usually grows to the point of beginning nuclear fusion and becoming a star.


hydrogen warhead

hydrogen warhead (plural hydrogen warheads)

a small thermonuclear device in the warhead of a missile


helium fusion

(nuclear physics) nuclear fusion involving helium nuclei.


nucleosynthesis

nucleosynthesis (countable and uncountable, plural nucleosyntheses)

(physics, astronomy) Any of several processes that lead to the synthesis of heavier atomic nuclei.

nucleosynthese

process that leads to synthesis in stars


carbon burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars of greater than 8 solar mass that have exhausted their helium supply, in which carbon is converted to neon, sodium, magnesium and other elements


silicon burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars where temperatures exceed 3x10⁹K, in which silicon undergoes photodisintegration to form fragments which in turn produce elements of atomic number up to 60, peaking at iron


oxygen burning

oxygen burning (usually uncountable, plural oxygen burnings)

(physics, astronomy) The nucleosynthesis process, subsequent to carbon burning, in which neon disintegrates to oxygen which subsequently fuses to form silicon, phosphorus sulfur and other elements of atomic number up to 40.


CNO cycle

carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle
carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle


LiBeB process

(physics, astronomy) Any nucleosynthesis process, the details of which are unclear, that accounts for the light elements lithium, berylium and boron which cannot survive in stellar interiors because they are destroyed by proton capture.


hydrogen burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars of less than 1.2 solar mass, in which hydrogen is converted to helium, deuterium and some lithium

Wasserstoffbrennen

process, in which hydrogen is converted to helium


helium burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars with temperatures over 10⁸K, in which helium is converted to carbon and then to oxygen, neon and magnesium

Heliumbrennen

process, in which helium is converted to carbon


r-process

(nuclear physics, astrophysics) The relatively rapid nucleosynthesis process, in supernovae, in which a large neutron flux allows rapid neutron capture and synthesis of elements up to the transuranic elements.


s-process

(nuclear physics, astrophysics) the relatively slow nucleosynthesis process, in giant stars, in which neutron capture synthesizes elements up to atomic mass number 210 (at which point alpha decay becomes a deterrent to further building).


carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle

(physics, astronomy) A group of nuclear reactions, that involve the interaction of protons with carbon, nitrogen and oxygen nuclei, thought to be the main source of energy in main-sequence stars of greater than 1.4 solar mass.

ciclo del carbonio-azoto

a group of nuclear reactions thought to be the main source of energy in main-sequence stars of greater than 1.4 solar mass


ICF

inertial confinement fusion
inertial confinement fusion#English

Initialism of inertial confinement fusion.


lithium deuteride

thermonuclear weapon
thermonuclear weapon

(inorganic chemistry) a form of lithium hydride in which the normal hydrogen is replaced with deuterium; used in thermonuclear weapons


brown dwarf

brown dwarf (plural brown dwarfs or brown dwarves)

brown dwarfs (plural)
brown dwarves (plural)

(astronomy) A starlike object that contracts to about the volume of Jupiter after its formation phase; its mass may range from several times that of Jupiter, such that it fuses deuterium, up to just below the threshold of sustained hydrogen fusion.


thermonuclear weapon

thermonuclear weapon (plural thermonuclear weapons)

A weapon whose power is derived from nuclear fusion at high temperature


hydrino

A supposed form of hydrogen having a lower energy than that of the normal ground state; postulated to explain the outcome of early cold fusion experiments.


positron emission tomography
positron emission tomography

(physics) A radioactive isotope of nitrogen, ¹³₇N, having seven protons and six neutrons, and a half-life of less than ten minutes; it is used in positron emission tomography. It also plays a role in the CNO cycle.


torcher

/ˈtɔːt͡ʃə(ɹ)/

-ɔː(ɹ)tʃə(ɹ)

(science fiction) The pilot of a spacecraft propelled by a torch drive (a spacecraft engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion).


tokamak

Borrowed from Russian токама́к (tokamák), an acronym of то(роида́льная) ка́(мера) (с) ма(гни́тными) к(ату́шками) (to(roidálʹnaja) ká(mera) (s) ma(gnítnymi) k(atúškami), “toroidal chamber with magnetic coils”).

Studies of electrodeless discharges in a strong longitudinal magnetic field, carried out on the stellarator and the "Tokamak", have shown that in such systems the plasma becomes unstable for currents appreciably les than the critical current of Shafranov-Kruskal.

1963 November, E. P. Gorbunov, K. A. Razumova, “The Effect of a Strong Magnetic Field on the Magnetohydrodynamic Stability of Plasma and the Containment of Charged Particles in the ‘Tokamak’”, in Soviet Atomic Energy, volume 15, number 5, New York, N.Y.: Consultants Bureau, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1105:

A Tokamak engineering test reactor (TETR) will be an important component of any national or international program to achieve viable Tokamak fusion power reactors.

1975, J. W. Lue, R. W. Conn, “Superconducting Toroidal Field Magnets for a Tokamak Engineering Test Reactor”, in K. D. Timmerhaus, D. H. Weitzel, editors, Advances in Cryogenic Engineering, volume 21, New York, N.Y., London: Plenum Press, →OCLC, page 41; republished Boston, Mass.: Springer, 2013, →DOI, →ISBN, page 41:

Of magnetic fusion experiments, those in Tokamaks are closest to achieving the combination of confinement conditions needed for a reactor.

1982, “Controlled Nuclear Fusion”, in Energy in Transition 1985–2010: Final Report of the Committee on Nuclear and Alternative Energy Systems, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, →ISBN, page 390:

Researchers use large doughnut-shaped vessels called tokomaks to try to achieve the critical temperature and density needed for fusion to begin. A tokomak uses powerful magnetic fields to contain hydrogen, which is heated to several million degrees. As the strength of the magnetic field increases, it squeezes the plasma, resulting in a higher temperature and density.

1989 September–October, D. Benningfield, “Funds Requested to Speed Up Nuclear Fusion Experiments”, in Ernstine Wheelock, editor, Alcalde, volume 78, number 1, Austin, Tx.: The Ex-Students' Association of the University of Texas, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 43, column 1:

Slowly, the solenoid—all one thousand tons of it—will be carried to the tokamak and lowered into the center of the vacuum chamber.

2014 March 3, Raffi Khatchadourian, “A Star in a Bottle: An Audacious Plan to Create a New Energy Source could Save the Planet from Catastrophe. But Time is Running Out.”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 2018-12-05:

(nuclear physics) A torus-shaped chamber used in nuclear fusion research in which a plasma is magnetically confined.

托卡馬克

A torus-shaped chamber in which a plasma is magnetically confined


giant star

(astronomy) A star that has stopped fusing hydrogen in its core and as a result has grown much larger and brighter.


fusion bomb

An atomic bomb that uses nuclear fusion as a source of energy; a hydrogen bomb


substellar

a substellar companion

(astronomy, of an object) Having a mass less than the minimum necessary mass for hydrogen fusion


Bussard ramjet

From Bussard + ramjet, after Robert W. Bussard.

(astronautics) A fusion rocket that gathers fuel from the interstellar medium through attraction via a magnetic field, functioning akin to a regular ramjet.


fusion rocket

(astronautics) a rocket engine that uses nuclear fusion reactions for propulsive force


fusion reactor

(theoretically), a thermonuclear reactor that relies on the controlled fusion of light elements into heavier elements, with the attendant release of enormous amounts of energy. In practice, satisfactory results have not yet been achieved.


diproton

A hypothetical particle consisting of two protons and no neutrons; a helium-2 nucleus. Presumably an intermediate step in the fusion of hydrogen into helium.


sonofusion

Up to now, Purdue has focused on two scientific papers published in 2005 that Dr. Taleyarkhan hailed as independent confirmation of his sonofusion results.

2007 May 11, Kenneth Chang, “Purdue Will Reinvestigate Its Professor Who Claimed Desktop Fusion”, in New York Times:

(physics) A nuclear fusion reaction hypothesized to occur during sonoluminescence.


fusor

Gibor Basri
International Astronomical Union
University of California, Berkeley
fusor (disambiguation)

Coined by Gibor Basri, Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, at the 2003 IAU conference; presumably fuse + -or.

(astronomy) A celestial body that, through self-gravity, is able to perform nuclear fusion within its core, at any point in its life. These include stars, stellar remnants, and brown dwarfs.

fuusori

celestial body that, through self-gravity, can perform nuclear fusion in its core


fusor

electrostatic inertial confinement fusion#English

(experimental physics, nuclear physics) An electrostatic inertial confinement fusion apparatus. A device that causes nuclear fusion through electrostatic field compression of the fusion fuel.

experimental physics; nuclear physics; experimental physics; nuclear physics


stellarator

From stellar (“star”) + -ator (“maker”).

(physics) A magnetic device used to confine a plasma, especially one used to sustain nuclear fusion


ramscoop

(science fiction) A proposed space travel technology using enormous electromagnetic fields as a scoop to collect and compress hydrogen and trigger thermonuclear fusion, thus powering the vessel.


spheromak

(physics) A particular form of stabilized magnetic field in which a plasma may be confined for use in nuclear fusion.


pycnonuclear

(nuclear physics) Describing nuclear reactions caused by the density of the reactants


quasifission

(nuclear physics) Partial fusion followed by fission of very large atomic nuclei, a possible means of generating neutron-rich isotopes


Daedalus

From Latin Daedalus, from Ancient Greek Δαίδαλος (Daídalos).

Daedalus
Daedalus (disambiguation)
Project Daedalus

Project Daedalus: a scheme for an interstellar probe that would use fusion rockets.


heliac

A stellarator in which the magnetic axis (and plasma) follows a helical path to form a toroidal helix rather than a simple ring shape.


aneutronic

en-adj

aneutronic (comparative more aneutronic, superlative most aneutronic)

more aneutronic (comparative)
most aneutronic (superlative)

(nuclear physics) That does not involve or radiate neutrons


proton capture

(nuclear physics) A nuclear reaction in which a proton is absorbed by a nucleus.


star lifting

(science fiction) A hypothetical process wherein a portion of a star's mass is removed, generally to serve as an energy source.


fusion torch

A technique that uses the high-temperature plasma of a fusion reactor to break apart other materials (especially waste materials) and convert them into reusable elements.


thermonuclear bomb

en-noun

thermonuclear bomb (plural thermonuclear bombs)

thermonuclear weapon
thermonuclear weapon#English


barium star

(astronomy) Any of a class of giant stars whose spectra show the presence of s-process elements (such as barium)


heliotron

A stellarator in which a helical coil is used to confine the plasma, together with a pair of poloidal field coils to provide a vertical field.


torsatron

A stellarator with continuous helical coils, or with a number of discrete coils that produce a similar field.


nucleogenesis

(physics, astronomy) The formation of nuclei; nucleosynthesis.


nuclear plasma

(physics) A plasma undergoing nuclear fusion


Z-pinch

Z refers to the direction of the current in the devices, the z-axis on a normal three-dimensional graph.

A kind of plasma confinement system that uses an electrical current in the plasma to generate a magnetic field that compresses it.


theta pinch

(physics) A pinch (magnetic compression of an electrically-conducting filament) where the magnetic field runs down the axis of the cylinder, while the electric field is in the azimuthal direction.


carbon detonation

carbon detonation (countable and uncountable, plural carbon detonations)

(astronomy, nuclear physics) The explosive ignition of thermonuclear fusion within a carbon-oxygen white dwarf star that occurs when its mass exceeds approximately 1.4 times that of the Sun (due to accretion of material or merger with another star), producing a supernova which completely destroys the star.


magnetic mirror

magnetic mirror (plural magnetic mirrors)

(physics) A magnetic confinement device used in fusion power to trap high-temperature plasma using magnetic fields.


hot fusion

nuclear fusion using the conventional method of very high temperatures; in contrast to cold fusion.


frozen star

frozen+star
* (stellar black hole, black hole alternative): From relativity predicting the passage of time slowing to a stop as the star collapses through its event horizon, "freezing" time and the star.
* (Population 0 star): From the existence of frozen volatiles, such as water ice, existing in the atmosphere and on the surface of such a star

sense

(astronomy) A proposed theoretical type of Population 0 star, which could exist in the far future, with a very high metallicity allowing for stars with very low mass, resulting in a nuclear fusion cored star with a surface temperature close to the triple-point of water.


torch drive

(science fiction) A spacecraft engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion.


torchship

Compound of torch (“a torch drive”) + ship.

com+

(science fiction) A spacecraft propelled by a torch drive (“spacecraft engine which produces thrust by nuclear fusion”).


ITER

(experimental reactor): originally an acronym, now explained as derived from Latin iter (“way, path”).

(nuclear physics) Acronym of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.


technetium star

en-noun

technetium star (plural technetium stars)

(astrophysics) A star in which technetium has been detected. This is significant because technetium is too short-lived to occur primordially in the star, if the star is about 4.5 billion years old (the estimated age of the Earth), so the star must be producing technetium.


Przybylski's Star

After astronomer Antoni Przybylski, who discovered it.

A star, about 356 light-years from Earth and in the constellation Centaurus; in which actinides, up to and including at least einsteinium, have been detected.


interstellar ramjet

interstellar ramjet (plural interstellar ramjets)


LENR

LENR (countable and uncountable, plural LENRs)

Acronym for low-energy nuclear reaction(s).

Synonym for cold fusion (nuclear fusion near room temperature).


deuterium bottleneck

(cosmology) A critical stage in the early universe's nucleosynthesis process, in which the temperature was high enough for many photons to have energy greater than the binding energy of deuterium; therefore any deuterium that was formed was immediately destroyed.


confinement time

confinement time (countable and uncountable, plural confinement times)

autoignition temperature
autoignition temperature

(nuclear physics) The amount of time the plasma is maintained at a temperature above the critical autoignition temperature; in this case the temperature needed to start a fusion.


thermonuclear war

thermonuclear war (countable and uncountable, plural thermonuclear wars)

A nuclear war, assuming at least some of the bombs are thermonuclear.