disintegration

noun — 5 senses

disintegration

noun

UK /dɪs.ɪn.tɪˈɡɹeɪ.ʃən/ · US /dɪsˌɪnd.əˈɡɹeɪ.ʃən/

Etymology From disintegrate + -ion or dis- + integration.

1

A process by which anything disintegrates.

  • A Pan American World Airways, Inc., B-707-321B, N761PA, experienced an explosive disintegration of the third stage turbine disk of the No. 4 engine at approximately 1410 P.d.t, June 28, 1965. The accident occurred shortly after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, at an altitude of about 800 feet above the ground. Disintegration of the turbine disk was followed by a fire in the No. 4 engine area and an explosion in the outboard reserve fuel tank. The No. 4 engine and approximately 25 feet of the right outer wing separated from the aircraft.1966 September 28, Civil Aeronautics Board, “Synposis^([sic])”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Pan American World Airways, Inc., B-707-321B, N761PA, San Francisco, California, June 28, 1965, retrieved 25 Nov 2022, page 1:
2

The condition of anything which has disintegrated.

3

Geography, Geology, Natural sciences The wearing away or falling to pieces of rocks or strata, produced by atmospheric action, frost, ice, etc.

4

The process of radioactive decay.

Nuclear physics

5

The radioactive decay of a single atom.

Nuclear physics

  • The sample exhibited an activity of three disintegrations per second.
Derived terms
disintegrational, disintegration energy, disintegrative, electrodisintegration, kilodisintegration, nondisintegration, nuclear disintegration, photodisintegration, radioactive disintegration
Related terms
integration

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.