phosphorescent
English
editEtymology
editFrom phosphorus + -escent.
It's interesting to note that phosphorus is not phosphorescent. Some phosphoric mixtures can be luminescent through chemical reactions, but none exhibit literal phosphorescence.[1]
Pronunciation
edit- Rhymes: -ɛsənt
Adjective
editphosphorescent (comparative more phosphorescent, superlative most phosphorescent)
- Having the property of emitting light for a period of time after the source of excitation is taken away, e.g., in electrostatic storage tubes and cathode-ray tubes.
- 1966 [1961], William S. Burroughs, The Soft Machine (The Nova Trilogy), New York: Grove Press, page 11:
- So he imports this special breed of scorpions and feeds them on metal meal and the scorpions turned a phosphorescent blue color and sort of hummed.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editemitting light for a period of time after the source of excitation is taken away
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Noun
editphosphorescent (plural phosphorescents)
- A phosphorescent substance.
References
editFrench
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editphosphorescent (feminine phosphorescente, masculine plural phosphorescents, feminine plural phosphorescentes)
See also
editFurther reading
edit- “phosphorescent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
- English terms suffixed with -escent
- Rhymes:English/ɛsənt
- Rhymes:English/ɛsənt/4 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- French terms suffixed with -escent
- French 4-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French adjectives