exciton

American

[ik-sahy-ton, ek-si-ton] / ɪkˈsaɪ tɒn, ˈɛk sɪˌtɒn /

noun

Physics.

a localized, mobile excited state of a crystal, consisting of an electron and a hole bound together.

exciton British

/ ˈɛksaɪˌtɒn /

noun

a mobile neutral entity in a crystalline solid consisting of an excited electron bound to the hole produced by its excitation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of exciton

1935–40; excit(ed) or excit(ation) + -on ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023