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metastable state

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metastable state

Excited state (see excitation) of an atom, nucleus, or other system that has a longer lifetime than the ordinary excited states and generally has a shorter lifetime than the ground state. It can be considered a temporary energy trap or a somewhat stable intermediate stage of a system of which the energy may be lost in discrete amounts. The many photochemical reactions of mercury are a result of the metastable state of mercury atoms, and radiation from metastable oxygen atoms accounts for the characteristic green colour of the aurora borealis and aurora australis.
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This technique was employed whenever possible, but only a limited number of known high pressure polymorphs are quenc hable in the metastable state.
High pressure x-ray crystallography with the diamond cell at NIST/NBS by Piermarini, Gasper J. / Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Because of the high energy of the metastable state of [He.
Compressing Spin-Polarized [He.sup.3] With a Modified Diaphragm Pump by Jones, G. L. / Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
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