| 释义 |
inert, a.|ɪˈnɜːt|
[ad. L. inert-em unskilled, inactive, sluggish, f. in- (in-3) + art-em art: cf. F. inerte (16th c. in Hatz.-Darm.).]
1. a. Of matter and material things: Having no inherent power of action, motion, or resistance; inactive, inanimate; having the property of inertia.
1647H. More Immort. Soul i. iv. vii. 104 Poore naked substance..dull, slight, Inert, unactive. 1710Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. §69 Matter is said to be passive and inert, and so cannot be an agent or efficient cause. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VIII. 199 An opinion, that all nature was animated, that..even the most inert mass of matter, was endued with life and sensation. 1830Herschel Stud. Nat. Phil. §234 To say that matter is inert, or has inertia,..is only to say that the cause is expended in producing its effect. 1864Bowen Logic vii. 211 If matter is essentially inert, every change in it must be produced by mind.
fig.1820Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 15 The inert mass of accumulated prejudices. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. vii. 307 Knowledge is not an inert and passive principle, which comes to us, whether we will or no.
b. Without active chemical, physiological, or other properties; neutral.
1800Med. Jrnl. III. 432 Fumigations may..be serviceable in rendering contagious matter inert. 1850Daubeny Atom. Th. ii. (ed. 2) 54 One of them, for instance, might possess acid properties, the other be tasteless and inert. 1864H. Spencer Biol. I. 4 Carbon..is totally inert at ordinary heats. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. III. 1 The collodion film is inert, and plays no actual part in the production of a picture.
c. inert gas: (a) As an ordinary use of the adj. with gas: any gas that is (relatively) inert. (b) Usu. as (the) inert gases (now apprehended as a special collocation, analogous to the terms alkaline earths and rare earths): any of the elements of group o of the periodic table, viz. helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon, all of which are colourless, odourless, and tasteless gases which were formerly thought to be completely unreactive chemically, forming no compounds (though compounds of some of the gases are now known). Cf. noble gas.
(a)1885W. Macgregor Gas Engines v. 127 Nitrogen retards the combustion of hydrogen and that of carbonic oxide... The inert gas at the same time lowers the temperature of combustion. 1911Encycl. Brit. XIX. 715/1 Nitrogen is a very inert gas: it will neither burn nor support the combustion of ordinary combustibles. 1966McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. V. 553/2 The gas contains about 27% carbon monoxide and over 70% of inert gases (CO2 and N2), giving it the lowest heating value..of any of the commercially used fuel gases. 1973Sci. Amer. Dec. 22/3 The flywheel and the generator-motor would operate in an atmosphere of inert gas (hydrogen or helium).
(b) [1898W. Crookes in Proc. R. Soc. LXIII. 411 Professor Ramsay and Mr. Travers have discovered two other inert gases accompanying argon in the atmosphere. These are called Neon and Metargon.] 1902G. S. Newth Text-bk. Inorg. Chem. (ed. 9) ii. iv. 232 This property of nitrogen of uniting directly with magnesium was utilised in effecting the separation of the nitrogen of the air from the small quantities of argon and other ‘inert gases’ contained in the atmosphere. 1927J. W. Mellor Comprehensive Treat. Inorg. & Theoret. Chem. VII. xlviii. 906 The five gases—helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon—are colourless, and without odour. They are chemically indifferent and are hence called the inert gases or the rare gases, or the noble gases of the atm. 1939H. J. Reich Theory & Applications Electron Tubes xi. 396 An external electrode may also be used to initiate breakdown of a mercury pool tube containing a small amount of inert gas. 1950N. V. Sidgwick Chem. Elements I. 10 Apart from the molecular ions occurring in the gas, there is in no case satisfactory evidence of the existence of chemical compounds of any of the inert gases. 1961G. A. Cook Argon, Helium & Rare Gases I. i. 1 Unlike the atoms of oxygen, nitrogen, and some of the common gaseous elements, the atoms of the inert gases do not combine to form stable diatomic molecules. 1962Proc. Chem. Soc. 218/2 Although inert-gas clathrates have been described, this compound [sc. xenon hexafluoroplatinate (v), Xe+[PtF6]-] is believed to be the first xenon charge-transfer compound which is stable at room temperatures.
2. Of persons, animals, and (transf.) moving things: Inactive, sluggish, slow, not inclined for or capable of action. Also of mental faculties.
1774Burke Corr. (1844) I. 479 He is of that inert and undecided temper, that I fear he will not prevail on himself to pursue his point with vigour. 1809W. Irving Knickerb. (1861) 151 He was, in fact,..neither tranquil and inert..nor restless and fidgetting. 1834M. Somerville Connect. Phys. Sc. xxvi. (1849) 284 In some places the subterraneous fires are in the highest state of activity, in some they are inert. 1849Bright Sp. Ireland 2 Apr. (1876) 171 He is rather timid as a Minister and inert as a statesman. 1851Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 334 It contains sufficient oxygen to stimulate the nervous and muscular systems of these comparatively inert animals. 1855H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (1872) I. i. i. 5 As we ascend from creatures that are inert to creatures that are vivacious. 1859Dickens Lett. 19 Oct. (1880) II. 104 The deadest and most utterly inert little town in the British dominions. |