metastable

[met-uh-stey-buhl, met-uh-stey-]

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.

metastable

/ 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

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• metastability noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of metastable¹

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

Example Sentences

To create this structure, the researchers heated a metastable form of sodium hydridoborate until it began to crystallize, then cooled it rapidly to lock the structure in place.

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Li ions move to the nearest Li position always passing through metastable positions.

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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.

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Inspired by this phenomenon, the researchers developed a superior supramolecular machine capable to efficiently convert widely used synthetic photoswitchable molecules -- azobenzenes -- from the stable to the metastable conformation with almost any wavelength of visible light.

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In a recent experiment, this same group of researchers discovered a far more efficient way to create a previously observed metastable, superconducting-like state in K3C60 using laser light.

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