Nucleation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌnukliˈeɪʃən/

Definitions

1. The mechanism by which initial particles form a nucleus that leads to aggregation or phase changes occurs often in crystal growth and bubble formation
2. The process where small clusters of particles begin to aggregate, leading to the start of a new phase or structure within a material
3. The event in which molecules or atoms assemble into a stable cluster that serves as a starting point for larger scale changes in a substance

Etymology: Nucleation is a technical coinage rather than an ancient word, and its story is simply a matter of building blocks. The base is "nucleus," borrowed into scientific Latin from the Latin "nucleus," meaning "kernel" or "nut," a diminutive of "nux," "nut." Its figurative sense, a central core around which things gather, was already in use in English in the 17th century, but the physics sense came much later. The suffix "-ation" comes via Old French from the Latin "-atio," used to turn verbs into nouns of action. Putting the two together gives a noun for the process of forming a nucleus. The term was adopted in the 19th century for the process by which a new phase, such as a crystal or droplet, first forms within a parent substance, which is why its meaning stays so close to the kernel image of the original Latin.

Synonyms: nucleus formation, initiation, aggregation