chain reaction
Physics. a self-sustaining reaction in which the fission of nuclei of one generation of nuclei produces particles that cause the fission of at least an equal number of nuclei of the succeeding generation.
Chemistry. a reaction that results in a product necessary for the continuance of the reaction.
a series of events in which each event is the result of the one preceding and the cause of the one following.
Origin of chain reaction
1Words Nearby chain reaction
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chain reaction in a sentence
Rapid antigen and the more-sensitive polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests will be available.
South Africa and U.K. coronavirus variants detected in D.C.; Maryland to open third mass vaccination site | Erin Cox, Julie Zauzmer, Rachel Chason | February 11, 2021 | Washington PostIn May 2010, a trader in London using an algorithm to manipulate a futures market helped trigger a chain reaction that wiped 9 percent off the Dow Jones industrial average in minutes.
GameStop frenzy leaves behind a mess for Wall Street regulators | Tory Newmyer, David J. Lynch | February 3, 2021 | Washington PostEach Pin has the potential to be re-pinned by other users and then discovered by their followers, creating a chain reaction of activity.
Pinterest SEO guide: Eight tips for search-friendly pins | Aleh Barysevich | January 26, 2021 | Search Engine WatchThe test of choice has been a polymerase chain reaction test—which checks for the genetic material from SARS-CoV-2—from Curative, a California-based biotech startup, which turns around results in roughly 12 hours.
The optimal Covid-19 testing strategy for reopening the office | Katherine Ellen Foley | January 8, 2021 | QuartzThat initial test would use real-time polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, to examine sputum samples in search of unique genetic material from the virus.
The CDC’s failed race against covid-19: A threat underestimated and a test overcomplicated | David Willman | December 26, 2020 | Washington Post
It turns out that what was going was a thermal runaway, when a battery begins a chain reaction resulting in smoke and fire.
It's this "trigger a chain reaction" bit that gives me pause.
All it takes is one misplaced or mistimed trade, one small bit of misinformation or incorrect data, to set off a chain reaction.
A cold shutdown means a nuclear chain reaction can no longer take place.
New Earthquake Could Hit Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Plant: Study | Samar Halarnkar | February 18, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTMore fell on top of her, causing a chain reaction that toppled hundreds.
Why We Riot: How Fans Turned an Egypt Soccer Match Into a Bloodbath | Jeff Wise | February 3, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTOr the time he let a mouse loose among the female students to illustrate chain reaction.
This is Klon Calling | Walt SheldonIt's botany on the surface, but it gets over enough chain-reaction theory to be good physics, if you read it right.
Security | Ernest M. KenyonBut they didn't know they had started a chain reaction that would affect their very lives.
Sabotage in Space | Carey RockwellIf the pieces weren't brought together rapidly enough, the mass would fission in a slow chain reaction with no explosion.
Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet | Harold Leland GoodwinUse what he developed and the chain-reaction would never end.
This Crowded Earth | Robert Bloch
British Dictionary definitions for chain reaction
a process in which a neutron colliding with an atomic nucleus causes fission and the ejection of one or more other neutrons, which induce other nuclei to split
a chemical reaction in which the product of one step is a reactant in the following step
a series of rapidly occurring events, each of which precipitates the next
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for chain reaction
A process in which the result of one event triggers another event, usually of the same kind, which in turn triggers yet another event, so that the overall reaction tends to be self-sustaining. Nuclear fission reactions are chain reactions, in which the splitting of an atomic nucleus releases neutrons that penetrate other nuclei, causing them to split. The spread of heat through a substance is also a chain reaction, as fast-moving molecules in a hot part of the substance collide with neighboring molecules, passing on their kinetic energy to them, thereby making more of the substance warmer. See more at fission. See Note at nuclear reactor. See also kinetic theory.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for chain reaction
In chemistry and physics, a self-sustaining series of reactions. In a chain reaction in a uranium-based nuclear reactor, for example, a single neutron causes the nucleus of a uranium atom to undergo fission. In the process, two or three more neutrons are released. These neutrons start more fissions, which produce more neutrons, and so on.
Notes for chain reaction
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with chain reaction
A series of events in which each influences or gives rise to the next event, as in If one person collects substantial damages by suing a company, you can expect a chain reaction of such lawsuits. The term originated in the physical sciences, first (1920s) chemistry and later (1940) physics; in the latter it denotes a process of nuclear fission. By the 1940s it had been transferred to more general use.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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