metastable

American  

[met-uh-stey-buhl, met-uh-stey-] / ˈmɛt əˌsteɪ bəl, ˌmɛt əˈsteɪ- /

adjective

1. Metallurgy. chemically unstable in the absence of certain conditions that would induce stability, but not liable to spontaneous transformation.

2. Physics, Chemistry. Also pertaining to a body or system existing at an energy level metastable state above that of a more stable state and requiring the addition of a small amount of energy to induce a transition to the more stable state.

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metastable British  

/ ˌmɛtəˈsteɪbəl /

adjective

1. (of a body or system) having a state of apparent equilibrium although capable of changing to a more stable state

2. (of an atom, molecule, ion, or atomic nucleus) existing in an excited state with a relatively long lifetime

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noun

1. a metastable atom, ion, molecule, or nucleus

Other Word Forms

• metastability noun

Etymology

Origin of metastable

First recorded in 1895–1900; meta- + stable ²

Example Sentences

Immobile La3+ bonded to F ion inhibits the Li-ion conduction by blocking the conduction path and vanishing the surrounding metastable positions.

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2024

Analogously, isolated social states such as the former country of East Germany can persist in a metastable state for decades until the isolating boundaries are breached by outside influences.

From Science Daily • Jan. 11, 2024

They can exist in a specific metastable state corresponding to a negative pressure value.

From Science Daily • Sep. 25, 2023

That state in neon is also metastable, and this is the one that produces the laser output.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

It's a metastable state at best, all too likely to collapse into tyranny.

From The Sensitive Man by Anderson, Poul William