transmutation

American  

[trans-myoo-tey-shuhn, tranz-] / ˌtræns myuˈteɪ ʃən, ˌtrænz- /

noun

1. the act or process of transmuting.

2. the fact or state of being transmuted.

3. change into another nature, substance, form, or condition.

4. Biology. the transformation of one species into another.

5. Physics. any process in which a nuclide is transformed into a different nuclide, usually one of a different element.

6. Alchemy. the supposed conversion of base metals into metals of greater value, especially into gold or silver.

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transmutation British  

/ ˌtrænzmjuːˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of transmuting

2. the change of one chemical element into another by a nuclear reaction

3. the attempted conversion, by alchemists, of base metals into gold or silver

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transmutation Scientific  

/ trăns′myo̅o̅-tā′shən /

1. The changing of one chemical element into another. Transmutations occur naturally through radioactive decay, or artificially by bombarding the nucleus of a substance with subatomic particles.

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Other Word Forms

• transmutational
  adjective
• transmutationist
  noun
• transmutative
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of transmutation

1350–1400; Middle English transmutacio ( u ) n (< Old French transmutation ) < Latin trānsmūtātiōn- (stem of trānsmūtātiō ) a changing, shifting, equivalent to trānsmūtāt ( us ) (past participle of trānsmūtāre to change) + -iōn- -ion. See transmute, -ation

Example Sentences

Transmutation is like the opposite of nuclear decay; instead of an element breaking apart and releasing radiation, a neutron can be added to an unstable element changing it into a slightly heavier version of itself.

From Science Daily • Feb. 16, 2024

If the Universe be Mental in its substantial nature, then it follows that Mental Transmutation must change the conditions and phenomena of the Universe.

From The Kybalion A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece by Three Initiates

We have shown you that a mental state and its opposite were merely the two poles of one thing, and that by Mental Transmutation the polarity might be reversed.

From The Kybalion A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece by Three Initiates

Transmutation of metals ... the ability, at will, to endow the higher, more selective metals with intelligence ... and the ability to retain command of the intelligences thus endowed.

From Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930 by Bates, Harry

And in general, whether there be any such thing, as a true and real Transmutation of one Mettal into another?

From Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society - Vol 1 - 1666 Giving some Accompt of the present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in many considerable parts of the World by Oldenburg, Henry