RADIOLYSIS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does radiolysis mean? 

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

1. molecular disintegration resulting from radiation

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• RADIOLYSIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Molecular disintegration resulting from radiation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

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

lysis ((biochemistry) dissolution or destruction of cells such as blood cells or bacteria)

 Context examples 

The study showed that, during Mars's Noachian period (4.1–3.7 billion years ago), radiolysis, the process by which radiation splits water molecules apart, produced enough hydrogen gas (H2) for microbial organisms to live on so long as they remained within the area just beneath the cryosphere, the SHZ (subcryospheric highly-fractured zone).

(Study suggests Mars hosted life-sustaining habitat for millions of years, Wikinews)