closed shell

American  

noun

Physics.

1. (in atomic structure) a shell that contains the maximum number of electrons permitted by the exclusion principle.

2. (in nuclear structure) a shell that contains the maximum number of nucleons permitted by the exclusion principle.

---

Example Sentences

“I just turned to a closed shell, I was hot-headed, stressed, depressed.”

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2024

Among the most studied interactions of π systems, the non-covalent attraction between neutral, closed shell aromatic rings is often characterized using the terms π−π interaction or π stacking12, 13, 14, 15.

From Nature • Mar. 28, 2017

Opening the oyster by roughly prying the tightly closed shell is equivalent to a major operation.

From Time Magazine Archive

A live oyster, a good one, when it hits the culling board has a tightly closed shell.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

When oysters are bought in the shell, they should be alive, a fact that can be determined by the tightly closed shell, as has already been stated.

From Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 3: Soup; Meat; Poultry and Game; Fish and Shell Fish by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences