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Glite Dictionary
teraton

teraton

9.9
A unit of explosive energy equal to one trillion tons of TNT
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛrəˌtɒn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : teratón
  • During the simulation, they calculated the potential damage of a blast equivalent to 5 teratons.

Examples

  • In a recent report, experts warned that a nuclear device could yield an explosion of up to 15 teratons.

  • There are teratons of carbon waiting in the land permafrost.

    Blog text (19)

  • The scientists estimated that the bomb had an explosive power of 10 teratons of TNT.

Surface Forms

teraton singular
teratons plural

Morphology

teraton = ton (transparent) = tera + ton + tera

The SI prefix 'tera-' (10^12) combined with the unit 'ton' yields a straightforward measurement term denoting one trillion tons of TNT.

Etymology

The word teraton comes from the prefix tera- meaning 'trillion', as in terabyte, and the common word ton, meaning 'a large weight' or the 'ton' used for TNT. So a teraton is a unit that measures an enormous explosion equal to one trillion tons of TNT.