hot atom


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hot atom

[′häd ¦ad·əm]
(nucleonics)
An atom that has high internal or kinetic energy as a result of a nuclear process such as beta decay or neutron capture.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Thermal-beam clocks, in contrast, use fast-moving streams of relatively hot atoms to mark time.
Zacharias of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology attempted unsuccessfully to make a fountain clock using hot atoms. Decades later, the development of methods to cool and trap atoms with lasers opened the way to clocks based on cold atoms.
Tossing cold atoms like confetti, atomic-fountain clocks launch a new era in timekeeping

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