ground state

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noun Physics.

the state of least energy of a particle, as an atom, or of a system of particles.

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Also called ground level .

Origin of ground state

First recorded in 1925–30

Words nearby ground state

ground sloth, ground sluice, groundsman, groundspeed, ground squirrel, ground state, ground stroke, ground substance, groundswell, ground tackle, ground tissue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ground state in a sentence

On this ground State and Federal authority must, they thought, come in conflict.
Atlantic Monthly,Volume 14, No. 82, August, 1864|Various
The seeds are said to be good for pigeons, or mixed in a ground state with potatoes or barley for fattening pigs.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ground state

ground state

ground level

noun

the lowest energy state of an atom, molecule, particle, etcCompare excited (def. 4)

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

Scientific definitions for ground state

ground state

The state of a physical system having the lowest possible potential energy. For example, an electron in the lowest energy orbital in a hydrogen atom is in a ground state. The ground state of a physical system tends to be stable unless energy is applied to it from the outside; states that are not the ground state have a tendency to revert to the ground state, giving off energy in the process. Compare excited state.