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photoionization

American  
[foh-toh-ahy-uh-nuh-zey-shuhn] / ˌfoʊ toʊˌaɪ ə nəˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

Physics.

  1. the phenomenon in which the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by an atom in a gas induces the atom to emit a bound electron and thereby become ionized.

Etymology

Origin of photoionization

First recorded in 1910–15; photo- + ionization ( def. )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.