quenching

quenching /quench·ing/ (kwench´ing)

1. suppressing or diminishing a physical property, as of heat in a metal by immersion in cold liquid.

2. decrease of fluorescence from an excited molecule by other molecules that absorb some emission energy that would otherwise occur as light.

3. in liquid scintillation counting, interference with fluoresence generation or propagation, decreasing the counting efficiency.

4. the termination of secondary and subsequent ionizations in a detector to give it time to become sensitive again.

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quench·ing (kwnchng)

n.

1. The process of extinguishing, removing, or diminishing a physical property such as heat or light.

2. The shifting of the energy spectrum from a true to a lower energy that occurs in liquid scintillation counting of beta emissions; caused by interfering materials in the counting solution, including foreign chemicals.

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quenching

[kwen′ching]

1 a process of removing or reducing an energy source, such as heat or light.

2 stopping or diminishing a chemical or enzymatic reaction.

3 decreasing counting efficiency in beta liquid scintillation caused by interfering materials.

4 preventing emission of light from fluorescent compounds.

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quenching [kwench´ing]

extinguishing, suppressing, or diminishing a physical property, as the rapid chilling of a hot metal by plunging it into cold liquid. The term is frequently used to describe decrease of fluorescence from an excited molecule by other molecules that absorb some of the energy, which would otherwise be emitted as light. In several specific applications, it is used in liquid scintillation counting to denote any process that results in a decrease in number or intensity of the light flashes produced, thus lowering the amount of energy recorded, and it is also used to describe the termination of secondary and subsequent ionizations in a detector to give the detector time to become sensitive again.

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quenching,

n in aromatherapy, an aspect of synergetic combinations of oils in which undesired results arising from one component are neutralized by another component.