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ACCELERATOR
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A valve that regulates the supply of fuel to the engine
Synonyms:
accelerator; throttle; throttle valve
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("accelerator" is a kind of...):
valve (control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid)
Holonyms ("accelerator" is a part of...):
fuel system (equipment in a motor vehicle or aircraft that delivers fuel to the engine)
Derivation:
accelerate (cause to move faster)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A scientific instrument that increases the kinetic energy of charged particles
Synonyms:
accelerator; atom smasher; particle accelerator
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("accelerator" is a kind of...):
scientific instrument (an instrument used by scientists)
Meronyms (parts of "accelerator"):
storage ring (container consisting of a set of magnets set in a doughnut-shaped ring around which charged particles from an accelerator can be kept circulating until they are used)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "accelerator"):
betatron; induction accelerator (accelerates a continuous beam of electrons to high speeds by means of the electric field produced by changing magnetic flux)
charge-exchange accelerator (an accelerator in which high-energy ions escape from plasma following charge exchange)
Cockcroft-Walton accelerator; Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier; Cockcroft and Walton accelerator; Cockcroft and Walton voltage multiplier (a high-voltage machine in which rectifiers charge capacitors that discharge and drive charged particles through an accelerating tube)
collider (an accelerator in which two beams of particles are forced to collide head on)
cyclotron (an accelerator that imparts energies of several million electron-volts to rapidly moving particles)
linac; linear accelerator (ions are accelerated along a linear path by voltage differences on electrodes along the path)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A pedal that controls the throttle valve
Example:
he stepped on the gas
Synonyms:
accelerator; accelerator pedal; gas; gas pedal; gun; throttle
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("accelerator" is a kind of...):
foot lever; foot pedal; pedal; treadle (a lever that is operated with the foot)
Holonyms ("accelerator" is a part of...):
aeroplane; airplane; plane (an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets)
auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)
Derivation:
accelerate (cause to move faster)
Sense 4
Meaning:
(chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected
Synonyms:
accelerator; catalyst
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("accelerator" is a kind of...):
activator ((biology) any agency bringing about activation; a molecule that increases the activity of an enzyme or a protein that increases the production of a gene product in DNA transcription)
Domain category:
chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "accelerator"):
biocatalyst (a biochemical catalyst such as an enzyme)
enzyme (any of several complex proteins that are produced by cells and act as catalysts in specific biochemical reactions)
platinum black (a fine black powder of platinum; used as a catalyst in chemical reactions)
Context examples:
A radioconjugate composed of the platinum agent oxaliplatin labeled with the isotope carbon C 14, that can be used to predict the response to oxaliplatin therapy using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS).
(Carbon C 14 Oxaliplatin, NCI Thesaurus)
Any one of a set of linear accelerator parameters that define the segments from which a radiation beam is applied.
(Control Point, NCI Thesaurus)
This study provides the first cross-section measurements for a neutrino energy range that is up to 1,000 times higher than previous measurements at particle accelerators.
(Antarctic detector offers first look at how Earth stops high-energy neutrinos in their tracks, National Science Foundation)
On Sept. 22, 2017, scientists using IceCube detected signs of a neutrino striking the Antarctic ice with energy of about 300 trillion electron volts—more than 45 times the energy achievable in the most powerful particle accelerator on Earth.
(NASA’s Fermi Traces Source of Cosmic Neutrino to Monster Black Hole, NASA)
Instinct made him step on the accelerator with the double purpose of overtaking Daisy and leaving Wilson behind, and we sped along toward Astoria at fifty miles an hour, until, among the spidery girders of the elevated, we came in sight of the easygoing blue coupé.
(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
