superˈheavy, a. (n.)
[super- 9 a.]
a. gen. Extremely heavy, heavier than the normal. Occas. as n.
| 1952 Sci. Amer. May 44/1 It is a job for accurate balancing and gyroscope controls..and therefore an ideal spot for Hevimet, super-heavy Carboloy created-metal. 1974 Physics Bull. Dec. 578/3 The quarks give way to..super⁓heavy mesonic matter and, ultimately, neutrons, protons and the lighter mesons. 1976 Daily Times (Lagos) 22 Sept. 30/1 That's how wrestling ‘superheavy’ Ray Apallon begins the open challenge to ‘any of your Nigerian heavy⁓weight wrestlers’. |
b. Nucl. Physics. Of, pertaining to, or designating an element with an atomic mass or atomic number greater than those of the naturally occurring elements; spec. having an atomic number of 110 or more and belonging to a group having a limited range of proton/neutron ratios which confer enhanced stability against radioactive decay. Also as n., such an element.
| 1955 J. A. Wheeler in W. Pauli Niels Bohr 183 The superheavy nuclei that are neutron stable. 1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xviii. 107 Tritium is also called super-heavy hydrogen. 1970 Physics Bull. Dec. 534/2 The success of this view..has led to the suggestion that there exists a further ‘island’ of stability around mass number 300: superheavy nuclei which may have lifetimes from a fraction of a second, up to many years. 1971 New Scientist 18 Feb. 344/3 The radioactive counts from the mercury source showed the most promise for a superheavy. 1979 Nature 16 Aug. 549/2 There is no convincing evidence that superheavy elements have been discovered. 1980 Physical Rev. C. XXI. 1664/2 The recent theoretical estimates of low barriers..are supported by the failure to detect superheavies in the 48Ca + 248Cm reaction. |