subsaturationn.
/ˌsʌbˌsatʃəˈreɪʃn/, /ˌsʌbˌsatjᵿˈreɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌsəbˌsætʃəˈreɪʃən/ Chiefly Chemistry.
Incomplete or partial saturation; an instance of this.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > chemical reactions or processes (named) > saturation > undersaturation
subsaturation1806
undersaturation1957
1806 R. Patterson Adams's Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. (rev. ed.) I. App. 531 The acid itself is named from its radical, with the termination ic, when the radical is fully saturated with the oxygen, as the sulphuric acid, the nitric acid, &c. and with the termination ous, when there is a subsaturation, or when the radical is in excess, as the sulphurous acid.
1833 D. H. Whitney Family Physician (Gloss.) 553/2 Saturation,..if there is not as much sugar as the tea can dissolve, it is called subsaturation.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 177 The solvent relation of the bodily fluids to the material of gouty deposits is simply a question of saturation or subsaturation.
1911 W. J. McGee Soil Erosion 11 While the aggregate quantity of soil-fluid varies widely with different soils of varying texture, the limiting points of subsaturation and interrupted capillarity vary in a measurably corresponding way.
1970 Jrnl. Nucl. Energy 24 12 The steam is then passed on to the turbine. The saturated water, on the other hand, is mixed in the drum with feed water coming from the turbine system, thus yielding the required degree of sub-saturation.
2004 Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 161 255 Because zircon subsaturation stops Oswald ripening, the formation of new zircons from this melt could not have occurred until it reached saturation.
Compounds
attributive. That is below the level of saturation.
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1903 H. M. Howe Iron, Steel, & Other Alloys iv. 69 (heading) Subsaturation and saturation divisions of the excess-freezing period.
1965 Chesapeake Sci. 6 125 Photosynthetic activity of chlorophyll, at probably subsaturation light intensity, ranged from a mean of 5.21 in August to 1.09 in December.
1987 T. H. Blackburn in D. J. W. Moriarty & R. S. V. Pullin Detritus & Microbial Ecol. Aquaculture 52 Subsaturation values do not have a dramatic effect..until you get down to about 10% saturation. Of course fish would not be too happy in water like this.
2008 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105 17445/2 We used subsaturation irradiances, Ek, for the three study species based on results of studies of photosynthesis in similar light habitats.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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