debye

¹

[ dih-bahy ]

noun

, Electricity.

1. a unit of measure for electric dipole moments, equal to 10 –18 statcoulomb-centimeters. : D

Debye

²

[ de-bahy ]

noun

1. Pe·ter Jo·seph Wil·helm [pey, -t, uh, r, , yoh, -sef , vil, -helm], 1884–1966, Dutch physicist, in the U.S. after 1940: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1936.

Debye

/ deˈbɛiə /

noun

1. DebyePeter Joseph Wilhelm18841966MDutchSCIENCE: chemistSCIENCE: physicist Peter Joseph Wilhelm. 1884–1966, Dutch chemist and physicist, working in the US: Nobel prize for chemistry (1936) for his work on dipole moments

Word History and Origins

Origin of debye¹

First recorded in 1930–35; named after P. J. W. Debye

Example Sentences

But work done in Russia, whose navy has long been interested in alternatives to sonar, suggests the Debye effect can be turned into something quite potent.

From Economist

That suggests that a well-tuned Debye detector might be able to pick up a trail from several kilometres back and follow it to find the submarine.

From Economist

Thanks to something called the Debye effect, it might be possible to hunt submarines using the magnetic signatures of their wakes.

From Economist

The Debye effect has been known since 1933, but its effects were thought to be tiny.

From Economist

Cornell's Peter Debye, 68, Nobel Prize-winning chemist and physicist, author of the Debye theory of the specific heat of solids.

From Time Magazine Archive