Gunn effect

[ guhn ]

/ gʌn /

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noun Physics, Electronics.

the onset of microwave oscillations in a thin slice of a semiconductor when a voltage exceeding a given value is applied across the slice.

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Origin of Gunn effect

Named after J. B. Gunn (1928–2006), British physicist, who discovered the effect in 1963

Words nearby Gunn effect

gun moll, Gunn, Gunnar, Gunnbjørn, gunned, Gunn effect, gunnel, Gunnell, gunner, gunnera, gunnery

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

How to use Gunn effect in a sentence

In Israel, however, a new law took effect January 1st that banned the use of underweight models.
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But they say its effect on the regular daily operation of organized crime has been negligible.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
All of these increased barriers then have a snowball effect.
Random Hook-Ups or Dry Spells: Why Millennials Flunk College Dating|Ellie Schaack|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So now the company is asking the FCC to, in effect, reverse itself.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A revised version of the law goes into effect on January 1st, 2015.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.
Children's Ways|James Sully
He shrank, as from some one who inflicted pain as a child, unwittingly, to see what the effect would be.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
And so this is why the clever performer cannot reproduce the effect of a speech of Demosthenes or Daniel Webster.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The well-known "cock and bull" stories of small children are inspired by this love of strong effect.
Children's Ways|James Sully
She stabbed him, noting the effect upon him with a detached interest that seemed indifferent to his pain.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for Gunn effect

Gunn effect

/ (ɡʌn) /

noun

a phenomenon observed in some semiconductors in which a steady electric field of magnitude greater than a threshold value generates electrical oscillations with microwave frequencies

Word Origin for Gunn effect

C20: named after John Battiscombe Gunn (1928–2008), British physicist

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