absorber

(nuclear physics) A material that absorbs neutrons in a reactor.


absorption

en-noun

absorption (countable and uncountable, plural absorptions)

First attested in 1597. From Latin absorptiō (“a sucking in”), from absorbeō (“absorb”). Morphologically absorb + -tion.

اِسْتِيعَاب

act or process of absorbing or sucking in anything

абсо́рбция

act or process of being absorbed and made to disappear

electrical engineering
electrical engineering

(electrical engineering) The retaining of electrical energy for a short time after it has been introduced to the dielectric.

dielektrisk absorpsjon

the retaining of electrical energy for a short time after it has been introduced to the dielectric


NS

(Malaysia) Initialism of Negeri Sembilan


neutron star

(astronomy) A degenerate star that has been so collapsed by gravity that its electrons and protons have been merged into neutrons by the intense pressure. The solid mass of neutrons is sometimes called neutronium.


neutron

From neutral + -on; by surface analysis, neutr(o)- + -on. Coined by Scottish-Australian physicist William Sutherland in 1899 in a paper in the Philosophical Magazine. Subsequent usage was sporadic and theoretical, sometimes referring to neutrinos rather than neutrons, and the modern sense was reintroduced alongside proton by Ernest Rutherford in 1920.

coin

Holonyms: nucleus, atom

Comeronyms: proton, p, electron, e

(physics) A subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and having no charge; it is a combination of an up quark and two down quarks.

Ernest Rutherford
Philosophical Magazine
neutron


neutronium

From neutron + -ium. Coined by scientist Andreas von Antropoff in 1926 (before the discovery of the neutron in 1931; neutrons had been predicted to exist in 1920).

(physics) A material composed entirely of neutrons.


glitch

en-noun

glitch (countable and uncountable, plural glitches)

Probably from Yiddish גליטש (glitsh), from German glitschig (“slippy”), from glitschen (“to slide, glide, slip”) + -ig (“-y”). Related to gleiten (“glide”). Cognate with French glisser (“to slip, slide, skid”).
Popularized in the 1960s, by the US space program. Attested in 1962 by American astronaut John Glenn, in reference to spikes in electrical current.

Another term we adopted to describe some of our problems was "glitch." Literally, a glitch is a spike or change in voltage in an electrical circuit which takes place when the circuit suddenly has a new load put on it. You have probably noticed a dimming of lights in your home when you turn a switch or start the dryer or the television set.

1962, John Glenn, Into Orbit, London: Cassell:

(countable, informal, engineering) An unexpected behavior in an electrical signal, especially if the signal spontaneously returns to expected behavior after a period of time.


isotope

From iso- (“equal”) + -tope (“place”), because the different isotopes of an element always occupy the same place in the periodic table. The term was coined by Scottish doctor Margaret Todd in 1909 and first used publicly on February 27, 1913 by English chemist Frederick Soddy.

coin

(nuclear physics) Any of two or more forms of an element where the atoms have the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons within their nuclei. Thus, isotopes have the same atomic number but a different mass number.

نَظِير

atoms of the same element having a different number of neutrons


chain reaction

The Manhattan Project produced the first recorded controlled chain reaction.

(nuclear physics) A nuclear reaction in which particles produced by the fission of one atom trigger fissions of other atoms.


neutron bomb

An atomic bomb that produces a greater amount of neutrons, and a lesser amount of blast; the intention being to create equal lethal neutron radiation and blast radii which increases the effectiveness of the weapon against armour while reducing collateral damage.


PSR

primary surveillance radar
w:primary surveillance radar

(aviation) Initialism of primary surveillance radar.

Initialism of police service representative, an LAPD dispatcher.

(aviation, navigation) Initialism of point of safe return.


PSR

Philmont Scout Ranch
w:Philmont Scout Ranch

(scouting) Initialism of Philmont Scout Ranch.


antineutron

antineutrons (plural)
anti-neutron (alternative)

(physics) The antiparticle corresponding to a neutron.

antineutroi

the antiparticle corresponding to a neutron


gravitational collapse

en-noun

gravitational collapse (countable and uncountable, plural gravitational collapses)

The stage in the evolution of a star in which the pressure of the star is insufficient to maintain it at a stable size, and its material falls inward under its own gravity, eventually forming a black hole or a neutron star, and sometimes accompanied by a supernova explosion.


pulsar

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pulsar.wav

Blend of pulsating + (radio) star, patterned after quasar. Coined by British astronomers Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell in 1968, and first used in print in The Daily Telegraph. Analyzable as pulse + -ar

coin

Rapidly rotating dead stars, pulsars are so named because as they spin, they release beams of electromagnetic radiation across space that appear to pulse like celestial lighthouses.
But a pulsar called PSR J1023+0038, located about 4,500 light-years away from Earth in the Sextans constellation, is even more unusual in that some of the pulses are brighter than others, almost like it’s switching between different modes.

2023 August 30, Ashley Strickland, “Astronomers solve the puzzle of an unusual pulsing dead star”, in CNN:

(astronomy) A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.

Antony Hewish
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
The Daily Telegraph


magnetar

Blend of magnet + pulsar. Analyzable as magnet + -ar.

This signal could be detected with Advanced LIGO-class detectors up to the distance of the Virgo cluster, where ≥ 1 yr⁻¹ magnetars are expected to form.

2007, S. Dall'Osso, L. Stella, “Newborn magnetars as sources of gravitational radiation: constraints from high energy observations of magnetar candidates”, in Silvia Zane, Roberto Turolla, Dany Page, editors, Isolated Neutron Stars: From the Surface to the Interior, page 119:

2008, W. Becker, F, Haberl, J Trümper, 14: Pulsars and Isolated Neutron Stars, Joachim E. Trümper, Günther Hasinger (editors), The Universe in X-Rays, page 193,
The radio-silent neutron stars include anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), and “quiescent” neutron star candidates in SNRs. There is growing evidence that AXPs and SGRs are indeed magnetars (see [109] for a review).

One of most mysterious feature[s] of magnetars is their X-ray luminosities, which always exceed the rotational energy loss. Thus, the energy source of the radiation of magnetars is a mysterious question.

2011, Yukikatsu Terada, Tadayasu Dotani, “The International X-ray Observatiry and other X-ray missions, expectations for pulsar physics”, in Nanda Rea, Diego F. Torres, editors, High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and Their Systems: Proceedings of the First Session of the Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics, page 576:

(astronomy) A neutron star or pulsar with an extremely powerful magnetic field, especially those on which starquakes occur, thought to be the source of some gamma-ray bursts.


starquake

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-starquake.wav

Astronomers call the sudden changes in the neutron star starquakes. The energy released in a starquake is enormous and flows out from the star into the space surrounding it. After the 1969 starquake on the Crab pulsar, a wave of energy was seen to flow outwards, rippling through the centre of the Crab Nebula.

1985, Paul Murdin, Lesley Murdin, New Astronomy, page 131:

2000, Richard I. Epstein, Bennett Link, Starquake-Induced Glitches in Pulsars, Kwong-Sang Cheng H, F, Chau, K. L. Chan, K. C. Leung (editors), Stellar Astrophysics: Proceedings of the Pacific Rim Conference, page 96,
Starquakes in slowing neutron stars drive matter toward the magnetic poles, distort the star's shape, and excite precession.

2000, Carl Sagan, Jerome Agel, Carl Sagan's Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective [new edition of 1973, The Cosmic Connection], page 260,
Should the core be solid, starquakes are expected — a shifting of the matter under enormous stress in the interior of the star. Such starquakes should produce a discontinuous change in the period of rotation of the neutron star. Such changes, called "glitches," are observed.

(astronomy) A violent tremor or quake that occurs on or near the surface of a star, especially a collapsed star.


isotone

Reinterpretation of the p in isotope as standing for proton, leading to a replacement with the letter n for neutron. Coined by German physicist Kurt Guggenheimer in 1934.

(nuclear physics) Any of a number of nuclides of different elements that have the same number of neutrons.


moderator

moderators (plural)
moderatour (alternative)

/ˈmɒdəˌɹeɪtə(ɹ)/

Learned borrowing from Latin moderātor. First attested as Middle English moderatour.

(nuclear physics) A substance (often water or graphite) used to decrease the speed of fast neutrons in a nuclear reactor and hence increase likelihood of fission.


neutron diffraction

en-noun

neutron diffraction (countable and uncountable, plural neutron diffractions)

(physics) The interference process which occurs when neutrons are scattered by the atoms within solids, liquids and gases.


neutron optics

(physics) The general field of study that employs the wavelike character of neutrons.


neutron interferometer

neutron interferometer (plural neutron interferometers)

(quantum mechanics, nuclear physics) a device capable of diffracting neutrons and studying their wavelike characteristics

quantum mechanics; nuclear physics; quantum mechanics; nuclear physics


neutron scattering

(physics) any of several techniques that use the wavelike behaviour of neutrons as a scientific probe


neutron spectrometry

(physics) The field of study in which neutrons are used as a probe for measuring the excited states of nuclides.


GRB

(astronomy) Initialism of gamma-ray burst.


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).


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.


thermalize

en-verb

thermalize (third-person singular simple present thermalizes, present participle thermalizing, simple past and past participle thermalized)

thermalizes (present singular third-person)
thermalizing (participle present)
thermalized (participle past)
thermalized (past)
thermalise (alternative)

To lower the speed and kinetic energy of fast neutrons in a nuclear reactor by use of a moderator, and thus increase the efficiency of fission


initiator

(chemistry) A substance that initiates a chain reaction or polymerization.

käynnistäjä

chemistry: substance that initiates a chain reaction or polymerization

‘This, er, initiator of polonium and lithium, would it be used in an anti-personnel bomb?’ he asked. ‘Oh yes, you could say so, boyo,’ replied the Welshman. ‘An initiator, you see, is what sets off a nuke.’

1984, Frederick Forsyth, The Fourth Protocol, London: Hutchinson, →ISBN, page 301:

(military) A component of a nuclear weapon that produces a burst of neutrons to start the chain reaction.


X-ray binary

(astronomy) A binary star system in which one star of the pair is an optically invisible X-ray source.


degenerate matter

Pauli exclusion principle
Pauli exclusion principle

(physics) matter which has sufficiently high density that the dominant contribution to its pressure arises from the Pauli exclusion principle.


QGP

Physicists are attempting to make QGP by smashing large atomic nuclei into one another at such high energies that the protons and neutrons squeeze together.

2004, Frank Close, Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 126:

quark-gluon plasma
quark-gluon plasma#English

(physics) Initialism of quark-gluon plasma.


neutron drip line

en-noun

neutron drip line (plural neutron drip lines)

(physics) The jagged line, on a chart showing the number of protons and neutrons of all known isotopes, beyond which neutron-rich nuclei are unstable and emit neutrons.


neutron-rich

en-adj

neutron-rich (comparative neutron-richer or more neutron-rich, superlative neutron-richest or most neutron-rich)

neutron-richer (comparative)
more neutron-rich (comparative)
neutron-richest (superlative)
most neutron-rich (superlative)

(nuclear physics, of a nucleus or isotope) Having a large ratio of neutrons to protons

neutronrik

having a large ratio of neutrons to protons


Chandrasekhar limit

(astronomy) The maximum theoretical mass of a white dwarf, approximately 1.4 solar masses.

Chandrasekhar limit
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar


gamma-ray burst

en-noun

gamma-ray burst (plural gamma-ray bursts)

(astronomy) A flash of gamma rays that seem to originate from a random point in the sky; their most likely sources are believed to be supernova explosions of a very massive stars and mergers of neutron stars.


PNS

PNS (countable and uncountable, plural PNSs)

proto-neutron star
proto-neutron star#English


microquasar

(astronomy, stars) A high-energy binary star system that includes black hole or neutron star and which resembles a quasar.


RRAT

rotating radio transient
rotating radio transient#English

(astronomy) Initialism of rotating radio transient: a type of pulsar


neutron number

(nuclear physics) The number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom or isotope. Symbol: N


SGR

(East Africa) Initialism of standard gauge railway.


AXP

The radio-silent neutron stars include anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs), soft gamma-ray repeaters (SGRs), and “quiescent” neutron star candidates in SNRs. There is growing evidence that AXPs and SGRs are indeed magnetars (see [109] for a review).

2008, Joachim E. Trümper, Günther Hasinger (editors), The Universe in X-Rays, page 193:

(astronomy) Initialism of anomalous X-ray pulsar.


tetraneutron

A hypothetical stable cluster of four neutrons.


nuclear hydrogen detection meter

nuclear hydrogen detection meter (plural nuclear hydrogen detection meters)

nuclear hydrogen detection meters (plural)

(roofing) A device that contains a radioactive source to emit high velocity neutrons into a roof system. Reflecting neutrons are measured by a gauge that is used to detect hydrogen; the quantity of hydrogen detected may be linked to the pressure of water.


neutron flux

(physics) The number of neutrons passing through something, per unit area per unit time.


HMXB

high-mass X-ray binary
high-mass X-ray binary#English

(astronomy) Initialism of high-mass X-ray binary: a binary star system that is strong in X-rays, and in which the normal stellar component is a massive star, and the compact X-ray-emitting component is a neutron star, black hole, or white dwarf.


LMXB

(astronomy) Initialism of low-mass X-ray binary: a binary star system that is strong in X-rays, and in which the normal stellar component is a main-sequence star, degenerate dwarf, or evolved star from the main sequence, and the compact X-ray emitting component is a neutron star, black hole, or white dwarf


neutronization

(physics, astronomy) The process, such as within a collapsing star, in which protons and electrons fuse to form neutrons and release neutrinos.


thermal neutron

thermal neutron (plural thermal neutrons)

(physics) A relatively slow-moving neutron whose energy is governed by the temperature of its environment.


quasifission

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


kilonova

kilonova (plural kilonovas or kilonovae)

From kilo- + nova. From kilo- (“thousands”). From being much more luminous than a nova, but less so than a typical supernova.

(astronomy) A type of supernova that is underluminous, caused by the merger of two neutron stars


drip line

Hydrogen-7 has so many excess neutrons that it lies beyond the neutron drip line, and will spit out neutrons until it becomes a particle-bound isotope.

(nuclear physics) On the table of nuclides, the limit beyond which an atomic nucleus will immediately decay by emitting a proton or neutron.


crustquake

A starquake in the crust of a neutron star


free neutron

A neutron not bound in an atomic nucleus.


neutron radiation

non-ionizing radiation
non-ionizing radiation

A form of non-ionizing radiation consisting of free neutrons.


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


neutronic

(physics) Relating to neutrons or to neutronics


neutron capture

(physics) A form of nuclear reaction in which one or more neutrons are absorbed by an atomic nucleus

neutronisieppaus

nuclear reaction in which neutrons are absorbed


neutron cross section

en-noun

neutron cross section (plural neutron cross sections)

(physics) The cross section (probability) of a neutron capture reaction.

Neutroneneinfangquerschnitt

cross section of a neutron capture reaction


quasineutron

(physics) A quasiparticle equivalent to a neutron.


neutron activation analysis

neutron activation analysis (countable and uncountable, plural neutron activation analyses)

(inorganic chemistry) An analytical technique that measures the decay of elements when bombarded with neutrons

Neutronenaktivierungsanalyse

technique to measure the decay of elements


blitzar

Heino Falcke
Luciano Rezzolla
en:blitzar

Blend of blitz + star. Proposed in 2013 by Heino Falcke and Luciano Rezzolla. Analyzable as blitz + -ar.

fast radio burst
fast radio burst#English

(astronomy, neologism) A phenomenon that emits a fast radio burst.


plerion

Coined by Weiler & Panagia (1978), from Ancient Greek πλήρης (plḗrēs, “full”).

(astronomy) A nebula powered by the pulsar wind of a pulsar.


proto-neutron star

proto-neutron star (plural proto-neutron stars)

proto-neutron stars (plural)
protoneutron star (alternative)

(stars) The degenerate core of a massive star, prior to its emergence after a supernova as a neutron star.


binary pulsar

A binary star system where one of the stars is a pulsar.


radioquiet

a radioquiet neutron star

(astronomy) Not producing radio emissions.


ULP

(biochemistry) Initialism of ubiquitin-like protein.

ultra-luminous pulsar
ultra-luminous pulsar#English

(astronomy) Abbreviation of ultra-luminous pulsar.

Settlement of an ULP charge which required the parties to reopen the existing collective bargaining agreement did not remove the collective bargaining agreement as a bar.

1996 May 28, The Judge Advocate General's School, “The Representation Process”, in The Law of Federal Labor-Management Relations, Charlottesville: US Army, JA 211, page 21:

unfair labor practice
unfair labor practice#English

(US politics) Initialism of unfair labor practice.


nuclear pasta

From the resemblance of its phases to various types of pasta.

Watanabe, Gentaro, Iida, Kei, Sato, Katsuhiko (2000 August 28) “Thermodynamic properties of nuclear "pasta" in neutron star crusts”, in Nuclear Physics A, volume 676, numbers 1-4, →DOI, pages 455–473

The elastic properties of neutron star crusts are relevant for a variety of currently observable or near-future electromagnetic and gravitational wave phenomena. These phenomena may depend on the elastic properties of nuclear pasta found in the inner crust.

2018 September 24, M. E. Caplan, A. S. Schneider, C. J. Horowitz, “Elasticity of Nuclear Pasta”, in Physical Review Letters, volume 121, number 13, →DOI, retrieved 2021-08-26, page 132701:

The inner crust [of a neutron star] is where the nuclear pasta phase, a novel state of matter having nucleons arranged in a variety of complex shapes, is expected to appear. In the innermost layers near the crust/core boundary, because of the large effect of the Coulomb lattice energy, cylindrical and planar geometries can occur, both as nuclei and as bubbles. These phases are collectively named nuclear pasta (by analogy to the shape of spaghetti, macaroni and lasagna).

2013, José A. Pons, Daniele Viganò, Nanda Rea, “Too much "pasta" for pulsars to spin down”, in Nature Physics, volume 9, number 7, →Bibcode, →DOI, [arxiv.org arXiv] 1304.6546, pages 431–434:

(astrophysics) A type of degenerate matter found within the crusts of neutron stars, where the competition between nuclear attraction and Coulomb repulsion forces of similar magnitude allows for the formation of a variety of complex structures assembled from neutrons and protons.


neutronics

We used the Monte Carlo code MCNP5 to reproduce system neutronics in different operating conditions and to analyse neutron fluxes in the reactor core.

2015, Davide Chiesa, Massimiliano Clemenza, Stefano Pozzi, Ezio Previtali, Monica Sisti, Daniele Alloni, Giovanni Magrotti, Sergio Manera, Michele Prata, Andrea Salvini, Antonio Cammi, Matteo Zanetti, Alberto Sartori, “Fuel burnup analysis of the TRIGA Mark II Reactor at the University of Pavia”, in arXiv:

(physics) The flow of a stream of neutrons


Thorne-Zytkow object

Thorne-Zytkow object (plural Thorne-Zytkow objects)

Thorne-Zytkow objects (plural)
Thorne–Żytkow object (alternative)
Thorne-Żytkow object (alternative)
Thorne–Zytkow object (alternative)

From Thorne + Zytkow + object. Named after American astrophysicist Kip Thorne and Named after Polish astrophysicist Anna Żytkow.

named-after

(astronomy) A star that contains a core made from another star. It is formed when a neutron star collides with a star, typically a red giant or supergiant, and the neutron star is swallowed by the red giant star.


trineutron

A hypothetical stable cluster of three neutrons.


radioloud

a radioloud neutron star


neutron emission

en-noun

neutron emission (countable and uncountable, plural neutron emissions)

A form of radioactive decay, where a nucleus with a severe excess of neutrons, emits a neutron.


fast reactor

highly-enriched uranium
highly-enriched uranium

(nuclear physics, engineering) A nuclear reactor with no moderator, using fast neutrons directly in a controlled fission chain reaction without slowing them down, allowing for a much more compact reactor which uses fissile material much more efficiently and generates larger quantities of high-energy neutrons which can be used for breeding more fissile material or producing other useful radioactive nuclides, but requiring the use of highly-enriched uranium (at least 20% uranium-235) or other fuel containing a similarly high concentration of fissile material.


compact star

(astronomy) A type of celestial body that collectively refers to white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes and exotic stars.


element zero

From being a chemical element with zero protons.

(informal, nuclear physics, science fiction) Synonym of neutronium (“material composed of neutrons”)


(physics) An isotope of californium, ²⁵²₉₈Cf, with a half-life of 2.6 years; it is popular as a source of neutrons.


neutron-degenerate matter

Matter that is subject to such huge pressure that electrons are forced into nuclei to form neutrons: neutron-star matter.


nuclear halo

nuclear halo (plural nuclear halos or nuclear haloes)

nuclear halos (plural)
nuclear haloes (plural)

A bunch of protons and/or neutrons orbiting a nucleus, giving the nucleus a bigger radius than it should have. Such a nucleus is called a halo nucleus.


nuclear poison

Something that absorbs neutrons very well, hence sabotaging a nuclear chain reaction


Wigner effect

Named after Eugene Wigner who discovered the effect.

(physics) The displacement of atoms in a solid caused by neutron radiation.


induced fission

(nuclear physics) The process where the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei, usually when said nucleus absorbs a neutron.


HFIR

High Flux Isotope Reactor
w:High Flux Isotope Reactor

Initialism of High Flux Isotope Reactor.