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isomerism - 5 dictionary results

i⋅som⋅er⋅ism

  [ahy-som-uh-riz-uhm]
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–noun
1. Chemistry. the relation of two or more compounds, radicals, or ions that are composed of the same kinds and numbers of atoms but differ from each other in structural arrangement (structural isomerism), as CH3OCH3 and CH3CH2OH, or in the arrangement of their atoms in space and therefore in one or more properties. Compare optical isomerism, stereoisomerism.
2. Also called nuclear isomerism. Physics. the relation of two or more nuclides that have the same atomic number and mass number but different energy levels and half-lives.
3. Chemistry, Physics. the phenomenon characterized by such a relation.
4. the state or condition of being isomerous.
Origin:
1830–40; isomer(ic) + -ism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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i·som·er·ism   (ī-sŏm'ə-rĭz'əm)   
n.  
  1. The phenomenon of the existence of isomers.
  2. The complex of chemical and physical phenomena characteristic of or attributable to isomers.
  3. The state or condition of being an isomer.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Isomerism

I*som"er*ism\, n. (Chem.) The state, quality, or relation, of two or more isomeric substances.

Physical isomerism (Chem.), the condition or relation of certain (metameric) substances, which, while chemically identical (in that they have the same composition, the same molecular weights, and the same ultimate constitution), are yet physically different, as in their action on polarized light, as dextro- and l[ae]vo-tartaric acids. In such compounds there is usually at least one unsymmetrical carbon atom. See Unsymmetrical.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Main Entry: isom·er·ism
Pronunciation: I-'säm-&-"riz-&m
Function: noun
1 : the relation of two or more chemical speciesthat are isomers
2 : the relation of two or more nuclides with the same mass numbers and atomic numbers but different energy states and rates of radioactive decay
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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isomerism i·som·er·ism (ī-sŏm'ə-rĭz'əm)
n.

  1. The phenomenon of the existence of isomers.
  2. The complex of chemical and physical phenomena characteristic of or attributable to isomers.
  3. The state or condition of being an isomer.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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