quenching
nounCA, UK, US /ˈkwɛn.t͡ʃɪŋ/ · AU /ˈkwen.t͡ʃɪŋ/
Etymology From Middle English quenchinge, equivalent to quench + -ing.
1
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The extinction of any of several physical properties.
2
Engineering, Metallurgy, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The rapid cooling of a hot metal object, by placing it in a liquid, in order to harden it.
3
Astronomy, Natural sciences A process in which a galaxy loses cold gas, thus strongly suppressing star formation.
4
Biology, Botany, Natural sciences The dissipation of energy from light in excess of what can be used for photosynthesis.
- 2022 August 27, Michael Le Page, Genetic tweaking increases soy yield by upgrading photosynthesis, New Scientist, Issue 3401, page 16, When a leaf is in full sunshine, it absorbs more light energy than its photosynthetic machinery can handle. This damages cells unless they turn on a mechanism known as quenching to dissipate the excess energy. When a leaf is shaded, however, quenching has to be turned off to avoid dissipating energy that could be used.
- Derived terms
- dequenching, quenching frequency, quenching oil, quenching stress, selfquenching, superquenching