metastabilityn.
/ˌmɛtəstəˈbɪlᵻti/, U.S. /ˌmɛdəstəˈbɪlᵻdi/ Chemistry and Physics.
The property or state of being metastable.
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metastability1901
1901 Jrnl. Physical Chem. 5 270 (heading) The meta~stability of the Weston cadmium cell.
1914 W. Rosenhain Introd. Study Physical Metall. xiv. 328 The metallic state, in the conditions which prevail at the surface of the earth, is for the majority of metals a state of chemical meta-stability.
1924 Nature 13 Dec. 859/2 Atomic theory would suggest that these lines were connected with a faint metastability of certain possible quantum states of the atoms.
1950 Engineering 3 Feb. 137/3 This type of under-cooling is made possible only by the metastability of iron carbide.
1968 C. G. Kuper Introd. Theory Superconductivity i. 4 The latter is a small and very simple device which exploits the metastability of superconducting persistent currents.
1988 F. A. Cotton & G. Wilkinson Adv. Inorg. Chem. (ed. 5) i. 6 Ignoring the possibility of metastability, which seldom arises, the compound will adopt the arrangement providing the greatest stability, that is, the lowest energy.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1901