rarefaction

See also: raréfaction

English

Etymology

From Middle French raréfaction. By surface analysis, rarefy +‎ -faction.

Noun

rarefaction (countable and uncountable, plural rarefactions)

1. A reduction in the density of a material, especially that of a fluid.
   • 1663, Robert Boyle, “Title I. Experiments Touching Bodies Capable of Freezing Others.”, in New Experiments and Observations Touching Cold, or, An Experimental History of Cold, Begun. […], London: […] Richard Davis, […], published 1683, →OCLC, paragraph 21, page 52:

     [T]his ſeal'd vial, being broken under water, ſuck'd in a conſiderable quantity of it, whether, becauſe of ſome little rarefaction of the Air included in the ſealing, or becauſe of the infrigidation of that Air by the ſnow, or for both theſe Reaſons, or any other, I ſhall not Now diſpute.

   • 1847, editorial staff, “White Hard Spirit of Wine Varnish”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 72:

     ..; but be particular to keep a firm hold over the cork of the bottle, or else the rarefaction will blow the cork out with the force of a shot: and an accident might acrue from fire.

Antonyms

• compression

Derived terms

• rarefactional

Related terms

• rarefact

Translations

reduction in the density of a material

• Bengali: তনুকরণ (tonukron), তনুভবন (tonubhobon)
• Bulgarian: разреждане n (razreždane)
• Catalan: enrariment m, rarefacció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 稀疏 (zh) (xīshū), (in medicine) 疏鬆 / 疏松 (zh) (shūsōng)

• Finnish: harventaminen (fi), ohentaminen (fi), harventuminen (fi), ohentuminen
• Macedonian: проретчување n (proretčuvanje)
• Polish: rozrzedzenie n, rozcieńczenie n
• Portuguese: rarefação (pt) f
• Russian: разреже́ние (ru) (razrežénije)
• Spanish: rarefacción (es) f, enrarecimiento (es) m
• Turkish: seyrelme (tr), seyrekleşme (tr)