GRAPHITE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does graphite mean? 

• GRAPHITE (noun)
  The noun GRAPHITE has 1 sense:

1. used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors

  Familiarity information: GRAPHITE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GRAPHITE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

black lead; graphite; plumbago

Hypernyms ("graphite" is a kind of...):

atomic number 6; C; carbon (an abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond; occurs in all organic compounds)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "graphite"):

lead; pencil lead (mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil)

pencil (graphite (or a similar substance) used in such a way as to be a medium of communication)

 Context examples 

He opened the kit bag and oiled his wheel, putting graphite on the chain and adjusting the bearings.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Buckyball, also known as fullerene or C60, is one of three known pure forms of carbon (graphite and diamond being the other two) that takes a spherical shape with a hollow interior.

(Buckyball, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

By performing liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite – a process that creates graphene – in the presence of titania nanoparticles, using only water and atmospheric pressure, the scientists created the new graphene-titania nanocomposite.

(Smog-eating graphene composite reduces atmospheric pollution, University of Cambridge)

In a traditional lithium-ion battery, the anode is made of graphite, while the cathode is composed of lithium cobalt oxide.

(Creating Better Lithium-Ion Batteries Made Possible with New Discovery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

To test their model, they charged three graphite pouch cells designed for hybrid electric vehicles at 40, 49, and 60 degrees Celsius, as well as a control at 20 degrees Celsius, using various cooling strategies to maintain constant charge temperatures.

(Modern Battery Design Can Charge Electric Car in 10 Minutes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Most negative electrodes in current lithium-ion batteries are made of graphite, which has a high energy density, but when charged at high rates, tends to form spindly lithium metal fibres known as dendrites, which can create a short-circuit and cause the batteries to catch fire and possibly explode.

(New class of materials could be used to make batteries that charge faster, University of Cambridge)

Buckyballs, named because they resemble the geodesic domes built by architect Buckminster Fuller, were discovered in 1985 among the byproducts of laser vaporization of graphite in which the carbon atoms are arranged in sheets.

(Buckyball, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)