energy leveln.
/ˈɛnədʒɪ ˌlɛvl/, U.S. /ˈɛnərdʒi ˌlɛv(ə)l/ 1. A quantity or degree of energy (in various senses).
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the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > degree of
strengthOE
intensivenessa1656
potencya1691
intensity1794
potence1817
energy level1902
power level1929
muscle1986
1902 W. R. B. Gibson in H. Sturt Personal Idealism iii. 152 What guides the physicist in forming his energy-equations is not the idea of the constancy of energy within the universe, but that of the balance of energy about any given change as fulcrum. The energy-level must remain constantly the same.
1910 W. James Let. 17 June (1920) II. 345 Certain arrangements of matter on the same energy-level are, from the point of view of man's appreciation, superior, while others are inferior.
1960 Science 14 Oct. 1012/2 Near Bald Point and Keaton Beach the annual accretion of sand is almost negligible, but the energy level [of the waves] is also very low.
2017 Sunday Times 10 Sept. (Tech Track 100 Suppl.) 6 The products scan the user's skin tone before automatically setting the energy level required.
2. Physics. Any of the discrete quantities of energy which a particle in a given system, such as an electron in an atom, may possess according to quantum mechanics. Also: any of the discrete quantities of energy which an atom or other system can possess by virtue of the configuration of its component particles.Usually measured relative to the lowest quantity of energy the particle or system can possess.
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1922 Astrophysical Jrnl. 55 149 The valence electron..assumes a new orbit where the angular momentum is unity. This orbit represents a higher energy level.
1954 C. Zwikker Physical Prop. Solid Materials xiii. 228 Fluorescence is the process in which the radiating electron falls back from the same energy level to which it was raised by the impinging photon.
1973 F. A. Rushworth & D. P. Tunstall Nucl. Magn. Resonance iv. 91 A flip-flop process, whereby one nucleus moves to a higher energy level by absorbing a quantum of energy released by a similar nucleus, which moves down to a lower energy level.
2013 New Scientist 31 Aug. 15/1 The ‘ticks’ of atomic clocks are the hyper-regular switching of atoms between two energy levels.
3. The amount of energy an individual has (or feels he or she has) as a personal quality or resource; a person's mental, physical, or emotional strength and vitality or his or her capacity for (sustained) exertion or effort. Also in plural in same sense. Cf. energy n. 5b.
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1925 M. Van Waters Youth in Conflict ii. ix. 217 The scale on which the student is judged, or measured, includes points which reflect daily activities, energy-level, disposition, or character of the student.
1974 Harpers & Queen June 133/4 Proteins will..help keep your energy levels high.
1988 Sunset Aug. 108/3 Long-distance bicyclists maintain their energy level by ‘power snacking’.
2016 Times (Nexis) 26 Nov. (Weekend section) 11 A few early nights would mean more sleep and increased energy levels.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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