| / English Dictionary |
ATOMIC THEORY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles
Example:
the ancient Greek philosophers Democritus and Epicurus held atomic theories of the universe
Synonyms:
atomic theory; atomism; atomist theory; atomistic theory
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("atomic theory" is a kind of...):
theory (a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena)
Domain category:
chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A theory of the structure of the atom
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("atomic theory" is a kind of...):
scientific theory (a theory that explains scientific observations)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "atomic theory"):
Bohr theory ((physics) a theory of atomic structure that combined Rutherford's model with the quantum theory; electrons orbiting a nucleus can only be in certain stationary energy states and light is emitted when electrons jump from one energy state to another)
Rutherford atom (first modern concept of atomic structure; all of the positive charge and most of the mass of the atom are contained in a compact nucleus; a number of electrons (equal to the atomic number) occupy the rest of the volume of the atom and neutralize the positive charge)
Holonyms ("atomic theory" is a part of...):
atomic physics; nuclear physics; nucleonics (the branch of physics that studies the internal structure of atomic nuclei)
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