met·a·sta·ble

(mĕt′ə-stā′bəl)

adj.

Of, relating to, or being an unstable but relatively long-lived state of a chemical or physical system, as of a supersaturated solution or an excited atom.

met′a·sta·bil′i·ty (-stə-bĭl′ĭ-tē) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

metastable

(ˌmɛtəˈsteɪbəl) physics

adj

1. (General Physics) (of a body or system) having a state of apparent equilibrium although capable of changing to a more stable state

2. (General Physics) (of an atom, molecule, ion, or atomic nucleus) existing in an excited state with a relatively long lifetime

(General Physics) a metastable atom, ion, molecule, or nucleus

ˌmetastaˈbility n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

me•ta•sta•ble

(ˈmɛt əˌsteɪ bəl, ˌmɛt əˈsteɪ-)

adj.

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

2. Physics, Chem. pertaining to a body or system that requires the addition of a small amount of energy to induce a transition to a more stable state at a lower energy level.

[1895–1900]

met`a•sta•bil′i•ty (-stəˈbɪl ɪ ti) n.

metastable

Describes a system which appears to be stable, but which can undergo a rapid change if disturbed.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

metastable - (of physical systems) continuing in its present state of equilibrium unless sufficiently disturbed to pass to a more stable state of equilibrium

natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics"

Translations

metastabil

métastable

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Summary: [170 Pages Report] Titanium Alloys Market research report categorizes the global market by Micro Structure (Alpha Alloys, Near Alpha Alloys, Alpha + Beta Alloys, Metastable Beta Alloys), By Grade Type (Grade 5, Grade 23, Grade 12, Grade 6), By End Use (Aerospace & Defence, Power Generation industry, Chemical Processing, Automotive, Marine, Fashion & Apparel, Oil & Gas Processing, Biomedical, Architectural, Sports, Other End Use), & By Region.

Titanium Alloys Market Latest Trends, Business Strategies and Competitive Outlook

The results of this study suggest that before entering cells, albumin primes the virus to form a metastable yet infectious intermediate particle.

University of Jyvaskyla: Physiological mechanisms leading to enterovirus opening revealed - helps in developing therapeutic treatments

"Iran now exports technetium generator (or colloquially a technetium cow or moly cow, a device used to extract the metastable isotope 99mTc of technetium from a source of decaying molybdenum-99) to many countries and if we can produce molybdenum, we will become fully self-sufficient in this area and of course, today we have had many successes in radio medicine production technology," Saqari said.

Iran Boasts 3.3% Rise in Medicine Production

Sintering helps in recrystallizing the nanostructure and causes a shift from an excited metastable (activated) state into a low-energy crystalline state.

Soft Ferrite Market to Witness Increase in Revenues by 2027

It is possible to predict the main intermetallic phases that are present: FeAl, [Fe.sub.3]Al, Fe[Al.sub.2], [Fe.sub.2][Al.sub.5], Fe[Al.sub.3] and [Fe.sub.2][Al.sub.9] and Fe[Al.sub.6] metastable phases.

Characterization in the Icosahedral Phase of [Al.sub.63][Cu.sub.25][Fe.sub.12] System

found that with rapid pressurization, the metastable structure can be effectively induced from melt in large volume for many kinds of materials, such as pure amorphous PET, nanocrystalline selenium, and metallic glasses [19,20].

High-Pressure Induced Formation of Isotactic Polypropylene Mesophase: Synergistic Effect of Pressure and Pressurization Rate

EndolucinBeta does not contain metastable 177mLu, thus, there is no need of logistics and storage of contaminated radioactive waste.

ITM to Supply Endocyte with EndolucinBeta for the Phase 3 VISION Trial

In general, if these transitions (metastable state) are involved in the continuous flow of mental processes and contribute in the formation of new information, they should be detected under conscious states, reflecting a dynamical view of the coupling behaviour.

Indication of Disrupted Temporal Structure in the Case of Thought Blocks in Schizophrenia: The Role of the Metastable Balance

Our study predicted the existence of a metastable structure of ODC(I) for the first time in literature.

Structural and Optical Properties of [alpha]-Quartz Cluster with Oxygen-Deficiency Centers