Cryomilling

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The process of milling materials at extremely low temperatures to enhance brittleness for easier grinding
2. A technique used to reduce particle size by chilling substances, making them more amenable to mechanical breakdown
3. The method that involves tearing apart materials using mechanical forces while they are frozen, improving their powdering efficiency

Etymology: "Cryomilling" is a compound built from two parts: "cryo-", from Greek "kryos" meaning "icy cold" or "frost", and "mill", the English word for a machine that grinds or crushes material. Put together, the name describes exactly what the process does: a substance is chilled, often with liquid nitrogen, so it becomes brittle and then breaks down more readily under the grinding action of a mill. The "-ing" ending marks the word as the present participle and gerund of the verb "cryomill", so it can name the activity itself ("cryomilling reduces particle size") as well as describe a process in progress. The word is a modern technical coinage, formed by simply attaching the Greek-derived prefix to an ordinary English verb, which is why its parts are so easy to read.