phonon

[ foh-non ]

/ ˈfoʊ nɒn /

Save This Word!

noun Physics.

a quantum of sound or vibratory elastic energy, being the analogue of a photon of electromagnetic energy.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of phonon

First recorded in 1930–35; phon- + -on¹

Words nearby phonon

phonological, phonological rule, phonologist, phonology, phonometer, phonon, phono plug, phonoreception, phonoreceptor, phonoscope, phonotactic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use phonon in a sentence

Both materials have phonons that work in different directions.
The world’s worst conductor could be a game changer in the climate crisis|Claire Maldarelli|July 23, 2021|Popular-Science
I didn’t even know what vibrations were, except in a very common sensical way, and I certainly didn’t know what phonons were.
The Charmed Life of Frank Wilczek - Issue 98: Mind|Nell Freudenberger|March 17, 2021|Nautilus
Other kids had comic books and you had the world of vibrating phonons.
The Charmed Life of Frank Wilczek - Issue 98: Mind|Nell Freudenberger|March 17, 2021|Nautilus
It began with the concept that particles, phonons, were a description or consequence of things that you wouldn’t think of as particles but as vibrations.
The Charmed Life of Frank Wilczek - Issue 98: Mind|Nell Freudenberger|March 17, 2021|Nautilus

In Fundamentals, you write about how, when you took a trip to Bell Labs in high school, you heard a scientist say that “phonons are the quanta of vibration,” and that that phrase just kind of reverberated for you.
The Charmed Life of Frank Wilczek - Issue 98: Mind|Nell Freudenberger|March 17, 2021|Nautilus

British Dictionary definitions for phonon

phonon

/ (ˈfəʊnɒn) /

noun

physics a quantum of vibrational energy in the acoustic vibrations of a crystal lattice

Word Origin for phonon

C20: from phono- + -on

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 phonon

phonon

[ fō′nŏn′ ]

The quantum of acoustic or vibrational energy. Phonons, like all quanta in quantum mechanics, have wavelike and particlelike properties. Phonons propagate through the vibrating material at the speed of sound in that material. Phonons are especially useful in mathematical models for calculating thermal and vibrational properties of solids.