allotropic
adjUK /ˌæləˈtɹɒpɪk/ · US /ˌæləˈtɹɑpɪk/
Etymology From allo- + -tropic, compare French allotropique.
1
Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Describing a form of an element that exhibits allotropy.
- Graphite and diamond are allotropic forms of carbon.
- A symphony and a poem may be allotropic forms of the same matter: to use a common simile, there is red phosphorus and there is yellow, but both are phosphorus. Likewise there are different forms of art, but there is only one art.1918, Walter Lionel George, A Novelist on Novels:
- Derived terms
- allotropically