phonon
Americannoun
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a quantum of sound or vibratory elastic energy, being the analogue of a photon of electromagnetic energy.
noun
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physics a quantum of vibrational energy in the acoustic vibrations of a crystal lattice
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The quantum of acoustic or vibrational energy. Phonons, like all quanta in quantum mechanics, have wavelike and particlelike properties. Phonons propagate through the vibrating material at the speed of sound in that material. Phonons are especially useful in mathematical models for calculating thermal and vibrational properties of solids.
Etymology
Origin of phonon
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"By pushing and pulling on a phonon laser with light in the right way, we can reduce that phonon laser fluctuation significantly."
From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026
By the very nature of the phonon being a quasiparticle in a crystal it can be shown that the same mathematical pattern holds as for their biological counterparts in water.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2024
Ultimately, the initial phonon number was reduced by 75%, at a temperature of 74 K, -194 Celsius.
From Science Daily • Jan. 18, 2024
"There is no off-the-shelf light source for our phonon frequencies at about 10 terahertz," explained Jiaming Luo, an applied physics graduate student and the lead author of the study.
From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023
Certain wavelengths of light, when polarized in a direction aligned with the molecules, prompt strong lattice vibrations—a phenomenon called a phonon resonance.
From Scientific American • Nov. 18, 2022
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.