MOLECULE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Molecule

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/mˈɑləkjˌul/ Listen

noun

Molecule n.

One of the very small invisible particles of which all ordinary matter is supposed to consist.

(Physics) The smallest part of any substance which possesses the characteristic properties and qualities of that substance, and which can exist alone in a free state.

(Chem.) A group of atoms so united and combined by chemical affinity that they form a complete, integrated whole, being the smallest portion of any particular compound that can exist in a free state; as, a molecule of water consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Cf. Atom.

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Etymology of 'Molecule'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Molecule" Quotes from Famous Books

... small box you can haf all your wishes," asserted the Professor, still in the German lyric strain over his triumph. "It iss the box of enchantments. You haf but to will the change you would haf taig place—it iss done. The substance of the rocks, the molecule—all!" ...

— The Mystery • Stewart Edward White and Samuel Hopkins Adams

... molecules of it were present, and it must be remembered that the spectroscope had already gone far beyond ordinary chemical analysis in detecting the presence of substances in minute quantities. Since these discoveries we can recognise a single molecule, ...

— The Story of Evolution • Joseph McCabe

... of carbon; and (c) that it contains 40 parts by weight of calcium combined with twice twelve, or 24, parts of carbon. It follows from (c) that the weight of one chemical part, now termed a molecule as the substance is a compound, of calcium carbide is (40 2 x 12) 64. By identical methods of calculation it will be found that the weight of one molecule of water is 18; that of acetylene, 26; and that of lime, 56. The general equation (1) given above, therefore, states in chemical ...

— Acetylene, The Principles Of Its Generation And Use • F. H. Leeds and W. J. Atkinson Butterfield

... or so, of course, we'd have the one-man beetles and crewboats out, and the floodlights orbiting overhead, and Vesta would be as exposed to us as a molecule on a microscreen. Then work would start in earnest. But in the meantime—and as usual—Hargraves, Reiss and I were out prowling, our weighted boots clomping along in darkness. Captain Feldman had long ago given up trying to keep his science-minded charges from galloping off alone like this. In ...

— Zen • Jerome Bixby

... remark: "With awe and wonder must the student of Nature regard that microscopic molecule of nervous substance which is the seat of the laborious, constructive, orderly, loyal, dauntless soul of the ant. It has developed itself to its present state through a countless series of generations." What an impressive ...

— History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science • John William Draper

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