dispersion

[ dih-spur-zhuh n, -shuh n ]
/ dɪˈspɜr ʒən, -ʃən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR dispersion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also dispersal. an act, state, or instance of dispersing or of being dispersed.
Optics.
  1. the variation of the index of refraction of a transparent substance, as glass, with the wavelength of light, with the index of refraction increasing as the wavelength decreases.
  2. the separation of white or compound light into its respective colors, as in the formation of a spectrum by a prism.
Statistics. the scattering of values of a variable around the mean or median of a distribution.
Military. a scattered pattern of hits of bombs dropped under identical conditions or of shots fired from the same gun with the same firing data.
Also called disperse system. Physical Chemistry. a system of dispersed particles suspended in a solid, liquid, or gas.
(initial capital letter) Diaspora(def 1).

Origin of dispersion

1350–1400; Middle English dispersio(u)n (< Anglo-French) < Latin dispersiōn- (stem of dispersiō), equivalent to dispers(us) (see disperse) + -iōn- -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM dispersion

non·dis·per·sion, noun pre·dis·per·sion, noun

Words nearby dispersion

dispersant, disperse, disperse dye, disperse phase, disperse system, dispersion, dispersion hardening, dispersion medium, dispersion relation, dispersive, dispersive medium

Words related to dispersion

diffusion, distribution, scattering

Example sentences from the Web for dispersion

British Dictionary definitions for dispersion (1 of 2)

dispersion
/ (dɪˈspɜːʃən) /

noun

British Dictionary definitions for dispersion (2 of 2)

Dispersion
/ (dɪˈspɜːʃən) /

noun

the Dispersion another name for the Diaspora

Medical definitions for dispersion

dispersion
[ dĭ-spûr′zhən ]

n.

The act or process of dispersing.
The state of being dispersed.
Disperse system.

Scientific definitions for dispersion

dispersion
[ dĭ-spûr′zhən ]

The separation by refraction of light or other radiation into individual components of different wavelengths. Dispersion results in most materials because a material's index of refraction depends on the wavelength of the radiation passing through it; thus different wavelengths entering a material along the same path will fan out into different paths within it. Prisms, for example, diffuse white light (which contains an even mixture of visible wavelengths) into its variously colored components; rainbows are an effect of dispersion in water droplets.