Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,918,455,558 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

rarefaction
(redirected from rarefactions)

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
rar·e·fac·tion  (râr-fkshn)
n.
1. A decrease in density and pressure in a medium, such as air, caused by the passage of a sound wave.
2. The region in which this occurs.

rare·factive adj.

rarefaction [ˌrɛərɪˈfækʃən], rarefication [ˌrɛərɪfɪˈkeɪʃən]
n
the act or process of making less dense or the state of being less dense
rarefactional , rareficational, rarefactive adj

rarefaction  (râr-fkshn)
1. A decrease in density and pressure in a medium, such as air, especially when caused by the passage of a wave, such as a sound wave.
2. The region in which this occurs.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.rarefaction - a decrease in the density of something; "a sound wave causes periodic rarefactions in its medium"
concentration - increase in density
Translations
rarefaction [ˌrɛərɪˈfækʃən] Nrarefacción f
rarefaction
nDünne f; (fig)Exklusivität f


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Dictionary browser?   Full browser?
 
The compressions heated the gas while the rarefactions stretched and cooled it.
Sound is propagated as compressions and rarefactions of the medium through which it is travelling, spreading out spherically in three dimensions, from the point of origin," I said, trying to give the impression I had grasped every syllable, and was now fully conversant with the theory of ultrasonics.
 
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.