photodissociation

[ foh-toh-di-soh-see-ey-shuhn, -shee- ]

noun

1. the dissociation or breakdown of a chemical compound by radiant energy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of photodissociation¹

First recorded in 1920–25; photo- + dissociation

Example Sentences

The Horsehead Nebula is a well-known photodissociation region, or PDR.

From Science Daily

They examine loss by mechanisms like Jeans escape, hydrodynamic escape, stellar winds, impact erosion, photoionization and photodissociation.

From Scientific American

Theoretically, there could have been some production of oxygen by photodissociation of water vapor in ultraviolet light, but not much.

From Literature

While better known as the atmospheric trace gas that protects us from much of the solar UV radiation, ozone is also an important source of hydroxyl radicals in the troposphere owing to photodissociation.

From Scientific American

‘The predicted frequency shifts and enlargements of the spectral bands reveal that the photodissociation of ozone is strongly favoured by its interaction with water.’

From Scientific American