internal conversion

noun

, Physics.

1. the emission of an electron by an atom with an excited nucleus, occurring as a result of the transfer of energy from the nucleus to the electron.

Word History and Origins

Origin of internal conversion¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

But still, Yost urges the reader not to reject the Dimes Square trad Caths’ practice as inauthentic because “‘authentic’ internal conversion is not a Catholic demand but a Protestant one.”

From Slate

These ions were then neutralized to allow them to decay to the ground state through a process called internal conversion.

From Nature

To observe the ejected electrons from internal conversion, Seiferle and co-workers used a magnetic field to bend the trajectory of these particles towards an electron detector.

From Nature

Seiferle et al.2 observed a process known as internal conversion, in which a thorium-229 nucleus in the isomeric state decayed to the ground state and the neutral atom emitted an electron.

From Nature

However, internal conversion is complicated, because the electron can originate from many different energy levels in the neutral atom.

From Nature