atom smasher
2
6.0
- noun
- Informal
:
acelerador de partículas
- Researchers are excited to use the advanced atom smasher for experiments that could reveal new particles.
- a giant atom smasher
- a powerful atom smasher
- a new atom smasher
Examples
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The large atom smasher at CERN helps physicists study the collisions of high-speed particles.
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World's most powerful laser used as atom smasher - The Physics Congress 2002
Blog text (19) -
Why not create the largest colossal atom smasher outside the city of Dallas?
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And if you did understand, you would pull out pencil and paper, a microscope, and an atom smasher to try and answer.
Fiction book (1998) -
Physicists at Glasgow University are using the world's most powerful laser beam as an atom smasher to simulate conditions inside the Sun and to produce radioisotopes vital in medicine.
Blog text (19) -
The new atom smasher will allow scientists to explore the fundamental building blocks of matter.
Synonyms
48
7.1
A machine that makes particles move faster for scientific study
11
5.5
A machine that makes tiny charged particles move faster for science or medicine
How Powerful
- Specialized
12
9.1
- Informal
2
6.0
- Specialized
- Specialized
48
7.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'atom' + 'smasher' denotes something that smashes atoms (i.e., causes atoms to collide), and this noun+noun compound follows a common English pattern. A B1 learner who knows both constituents and sees the context (e.g., located at CERN) can readily infer it refers to a machine that smashes atoms rather than an unknown idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Atom smasher comes from the simple picture of a machine that hits an atom so hard the smasher breaks it, letting scientists see the tiny pieces inside. So today atom smasher means 'a machine that makes very fast particles crash into atoms to study them'.