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nuclear physicist

nuclear physicist

7 4.8
A scientist who studies the centre of atoms and how they release energy
  • noun
  • /ˈnjuːklɪər ˈfɪzɪsɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : físico nuclear
  • Salpeter, a nuclear physicist who was just beginning to explore nuclear processes in astrophysics, had just been appointed associate professor at Cornell.

And it just so happens Stanton Friedman, who's synonymous with like Roswell, he's a nuclear physicist, UFO researcher, one of the brightest minds in the field.

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Examples

  • The nuclear physicist and his colleagues started work on the concept of industrial gamma-ray computed tomography in 1976.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Many nuclear physicists say the reduction in the budget request came as a surprise.

    Academic text (2012)
  • This is what nuclear physicists call the Bragg peak.

  • Dr. Karl Weigand is a nuclear physicist.

  • Professor Montel, famous nuclear physicist and atomic scientist, has vanished while en route to attend a conference in Vienna.

  • On this trip, Pauling also attempted to arrange a meeting with Andrei Sakharov, the dissident Soviet nuclear physicist and human rights activist.

    Blog text (21)
  • First, let's consider Pervez Amir Ali Hoodbhoy, an outstanding Pakistani nuclear physicist, whose December 30, 2001, Washington Post article, "How Islam Lost Its Way" (expanded in the spring 2002 Free Inquiry), strikes at the heart of the matter.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Dr. Smith is an expert nuclear physicist who researches the behavior of atomic particles.

  • After years of study, Maria became a qualified nuclear physicist specializing in radiation safety.

  • The nuclear physicist presented her findings on fission reactions at the international conference.

Surface Forms

Morphology

nuclear + physicist

The meaning 'a scientist who studies nuclear physics' is directly and compositionally derived from 'nuclear' (relating to atomic nuclei) modifying 'physicist' (an expert in physics). This adjective + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English compounding rules, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand the expression.

Etymology

Nuclear physicist comes from nuclear, meaning the tiny 'center' or 'nucleus' of an 'atom', and physicist, a scientist who studies how things in nature behave. So the phrase gives the image of a scientist who studies the small centers of atoms, which is why it means 'a scientist who studies atomic nuclei'.