fractionate
verb/ˈfɹæk.ʃəneɪt/
Etymology From fraction + -ate (verb-forming suffix).
1
Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To separate (a mixture) into its individual constituents by exploiting differences in some chemical or physical property, such as boiling point, particle size, solubility etc.
- Crude oil is fractionated in a refinery to produce a number of different petroleum products.
2
To divide a total dose of radiation into fractions.
3
Computing, Cryptography, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To divide each plaintext symbol into several ciphertext symbols as a preliminary stage of encryption.
4
To use the technique of fractionation in hypnosis.
- Derived terms
- cofractionate, cofractionated, fractionator, oligofractionate, refractionate, subfractionate
- Related terms
- fractional distillation, fractionation