reactionn.
/rɪˈakʃn/, U.S. /riˈækʃ(ə)n/ 1.
a. A chemical process in which two or more substances act on each other and are changed into different substances, or one substance changes into two or more other substances; a chemical change; (Physiology) the chemical binding of an antibody to an antigen. Also (Physics): an analogous transformation of atomic nuclei or subatomic particles.chain, Grignard, phase, Schmidt, Wittig reaction, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > chemical reactions (general)
reaction1585
habitude1793
1585 W. Bayley Disc. Mithridatium sig. B5v When the compound is fully rype, no one simple doth worke in it according to his owne nature, but by the reactions one common nature doth result, which cannot be attributed to any one or more simples.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. xvi. 108 This Chocolatticall confection is not so cold as the Cacao, nor so hot as the rest of the ingredients, but there results from the action and reaction of these ingredients, a moderate temper.
1669 D. Foot Let. 11 Oct. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1969) VI. 278 From the moment of the Sulphur and Acide Salt's meeting and contact begins a mutual action and reaction upon one another which never ceaseth.
1747 R. James Pharmacopœia Universalis i. 14/1 According to the Commixtion, Reaction, and Exhalation of the various Salts in the Air, different Species of Salts may be generated.
1770 G. von Engeström & E. M. da Costa tr. A. F. Cronstedt Ess. Syst. Mineral. 147 It has a reaction in regard to the acids, though not so strongly as the other alcalies.
1836 J. M. Gully tr. F. Magendie Formulary (ed. 2) 9 The great care that is requisite to prevent the re-action of this acid is an objection to its use.
1862 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. (ed. 2) III. iii. 67 Owing to the feebler affinities of these elements, the reactions take place with less vehemence.
1936 Nature 29 Feb. 344/1 The typical features of nuclear reactions are therefore perhaps most clearly shown by neutron impacts.
1946 K. Landsteiner Specificity Serol. Reactions (rev. ed.) i. 8 Reactions of an antibody with the corresponding antigen are said to be homologous, while heterologous reactions..are those taking place with substances other than the inciting antigen.
1950 N. V. Sidgwick Chem. Elements I. 397 The reaction of boron trichloride with an alcohol is quite violent.
1995 Sci. News 7 Jan. 6/3 A secondary reaction involves the production of boron-8 from the fusion of a proton with beryllium-7.
2000 S. Garfield Mauve 164 Several other Bavarian, Austrian and British chemists had toiled away at different permutations of the phenol-formaldehyde reaction.
b. The chemical reactivity characteristic of an acid or alkali; the acidity, alkalinity, or neutrality of a substance as exhibited in chemical processes. Usually with distinguishing word.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > chemical reactions (general) > characteristic of acid or alkali
reaction1824
1824 Ann. Philos. New Ser. 8 330 If a solution of a fluate be saturated until it possesses a perfectly neutral reaction.
1899 Jrnl. Physiol. 24 289 On the addition of acid a dispersion of the flakes of coagulum occurs with production of an opalescent fluid having an acid reaction.
1938 Jrnl. Inst. Brewing 44 466/1 The highest grade of asbestos is a completely insoluble material, neutral in reaction and tasteless.
1968 R. Passmore & J. S. Robson Compan. Med. Stud. I. vi. 2/2 It follows that the reaction of an aqueous solution may be expressed either in terms of [H+] or [OH−].
2001 K. Mengel & E. A. Kirkby Princ. Plant Nutrition (ed. 5) vi. 355 The potassium fertilizers, potassium chloride and potassium sulphate, tend to be neutral in reaction.
2.
a. The influence which a thing, acted upon or affected by another, exerts in return on or upon its source, or in turn upon something else. Often opposed to action.Frequently (and now usually) as an extended use of physical sense at 2b.
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the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > [noun] > opposition or resistance > specifically of one thing to another
reaction1599
reluctancy1625
resistance1833
water resistance1921
the world > action or operation > [noun] > return action or operation
repercussion1603
reacting1611
recussion1754
reaction1771
reagency1793
reverberation1797
retroaction1799
response1887
snap-back1972
1599 H. Buttes Dyets Dry Dinner Ep. Ded. sig. A6v Graciously embrace that conformable reaction, which your owne most bounteous fauours haue begotten in me.
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §5 It is the method of Charity to suffer without reaction . View more context for this quotation
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. iii. xxii. 257 Action and Reaction proceed in the same Line, but from opposite Terms.
1675 R. Baxter Catholick Theol. i. iii. 40 The will doth not resist by reaction on and against God; but..by its own not acting when it can.
1731 E. Law tr. W. King Ess. Origin Evil Contents p. liv Evil is Violence done to Nature; but every natural Action has Re-action correspondent to it: therefore he that does Violence must necessarily suffer it.
1771 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) V. 232 A continual action of God upon the Soul, and a re-action of the Soul upon God.
1792 A. Young Trav. France 434 The effects of high or low prices on agriculture, and the re-action of culture on price.
1863 J. Tyndall Heat i. 2 Action and reaction have thus gone on from prehistoric ages to the present time.
1876 L. Stephen Hist. Eng. Thought 18th Cent. I. i. 12 Mr. Darwin's observations upon the breeds of pigeons have had a reaction on the structure of European Society.
1912 Catholic Encycl. XIII. 600/1 The direct action of science on ethics is readily understood; the reaction of ethics upon science is just as certain.
1993 Desktop Guide Good Juvenile Probation Pract. (Office Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention) I. A. 21 The consequences of one's actions spread outwards... Every action can be said to have some effect on subsequent actions even though the reaction may be quite remote.
b. Repulsion or resistance exerted by a body in opposition to the impact or pressure of another body or other matter; a force equal and opposite to a force giving rise to it.Frequently with allusion to Newton's third law of motion (see laws of motion at law n.1 17b and Newton n. 3), often expressed as ‘to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’.
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the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > repulsive
reaction1607
abaction1654
repulsiona1679
1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse f. 40 In the naturall body, where the qualities are equaliz'd in strength, there must needs be action and reaction, a bustling and strugling together so long till there be a conquest of the one.
1704 I. Newton Opticks i. 135 Are not the Sun and fix'd Stars great Earths vehemently hot, whose heat is conserved by..the mutual action and reaction between them?
1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. i. 47 It must be compressed in return, by the Re-action of the Skull.
1796 S. Vince Princ. Hydrostat. i. 13 The reaction of the sides of the vessel against the fluid.
1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 524/2 The reaction of the jets caused the rotation of the machine.
1949 A. C. Walshaw Heat Engines (ed. 3) xii. 250 By Newton's third law of motion, which states that action and reaction are equal and opposite, the force exerted by the steam on the blade must be [etc.].
1987 E. H. J. Pallett Aircraft Electr. Syst. (ed. 3) i. 4/1 The armature field distorts the main field by an amount which varies with the load; such distorting effect is termed armature reaction.
2003 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 20 Oct. 7 c ‘I can't put into words what it's like to have to put your hands on the butt of a 300-pound man and push.’.. Except for every positive action, there's an equal, negative reaction.
3.
a. Originally: restorative or compensatory physical response (such as increased blood flow to the skin after a cold bath); an instance of this. Later: the body's physiological or pathological response to infection, trauma, medication, etc.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > blaze current or response
reaction1772
blaze response1902
1772 tr. S. A. D. Tissot Treat. Dis. incident to Lit. & Sedentary Persons 124 Its first action is repelling of the humours upon the internal organs, and the benefits of it depend upon the reaction of those organs [Fr. la réaction de ces organes].
1777 W. Cullen First Lines Pract. Physic 48 The latter [motions], which are of salutary tendency, and considered as the operations of the vis medicatrix naturae, we shall hereafter call the Reaction of the system.
1805 W. Saunders Treat. Mineral Waters (ed. 2) 498 If an intire immersion in cold water be employed, and the body be in a fit state to produce reaction, a full..perspiration will follow.
1853 Med. Times & Gaz. 3 Sept. 237/1 Now, we all know that when bleeding has been had recourse to, reaction almost invariably takes place.
1858 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 148 696 It must therefore be regarded as a true reaction on the part of the tissue, whether dependent on accumulation of vital energy during the period of suspended function, or excited, as by an irritant.
1927 Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. 1926–7 24 419 In subjecting the anamnestic reaction to a systematic study we have used 4 antigens sufficiently remote from each other in biological origin to exclude group reactions.
1957 B. Spock Baby & Child Care (Cardinal ed., rev.) 218 These combined inoculations often cause a reaction..consisting of fever, crankiness, loss of appetite, [etc.].
1993 Daily Mirror 4 Aug. 27/2 I had a bit of reaction in my knee after playing for Ayr against Blackburn last week—just swelling.
2005 Delicious Nov. 110/2 I always used to get home late from work and heat up a ready meal but since I had an allergic reaction to a curry, I've tried to learn to cook.
b. Neural, neuromuscular, or behavioural response to a stimulus; an instance of this; spec. a reflex. Frequently in plural, esp. in non-technical use. reaction of degeneration n. Medicine (now rare) an abnormal pattern of response to electrical stimulation seen in a degenerated nerve and the muscles it supplies.
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the mind > mental capacity > psychology > experimental psychology > stimulus-response > response > [noun]
reaction1860
response1887
respondent1937
the world > life > the body > system > [noun] > organ > faculty or function of > types of functions
systole1565
reluctation1632
metastasis1663
rhythm1683
rhythmus1707
reaction1860
1860 G. H. Lewes Physiol. Common Life II. 152 Inasmuch as the reaction of a nerve-centre is Sensibility..it is clear that the reflex-fibres would excite Sensibility, if they excited the centre.
1872 S. W. Mitchell Injuries Nerves ii. 24 Slight mechanical injuries ceased to cause reaction when the nerve had elongated to the extent of one-fifth.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 347 The reaction to light was lost in both eyes.
1925 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 36 391 Failure to obtain a conditioned knee-jerk reaction is no proof that a tendency in this direction has not been left in the nervous system.
1932 R. Kipling Limits & Renewals 134 Only the speed of my reactions saved me from bumping into Bunny when he pulled up without warning beside a lorry.
1985 S. Palmer Blackpool's Cent. Trams (BNC) 103 Drivers on the busy Promenade still require alertness and quick reactions when contending with thousands of holiday-makers in close proximity to their tramcar.
2004 R. Dew & P. Pape No Backup v. 52 My startle reaction was so strong that my flailing arms sent files flying from my desk if anyone walked up behind me at work.
c. More generally: any response to an event; something done, felt, or thought in response to a situation, statement, etc. (Now the principal general sense.)
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the mind > emotion > [noun] > emotional reaction to stimulus
respondence1846
response1887
reaction1899
the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > reaction
response1787
reaction1899
1899 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 10 573 Although in anger I feel very bitter and full of burning hate toward all mankind, my reaction is intense remorse.
1903 H. James Ambassadors viii. xx. 269 The droll promptitude of Jim's mental reaction threw his own initiation far back into the past.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvii. [Ithaca] 619 Did Bloom discover common factors of similarity between their respective like and unlike reactions to experience?
1946 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh i. 89 They all hoot him down in a chorus of amused jeering. Hugo is not offended. This is evidently their customary reaction.
1977 Time 10 Jan. 28/3 Asked for a reaction to the meeting, Carey beamed; ‘Peachy’.
1990 Interview Mar. 94/4 What was your reaction when you were notified that the mother of the sixteen-year-old was suing you?
2002 Historian Winter 8/3 The public reaction was no greater than the response..to the death of the Princess of Wales.
4.
a. A movement towards the reversal of an existing tendency or set of circumstances, esp. in politics. Also (and now usually) as a mass noun: advocacy of or preference for a previous state of affairs; opposition to political or social progress or reform (cf. reactionary adj. 1).
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the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > change of direction, reversion > [noun] > change to other or former condition
re-entry1599
reaction1792
shift1826
reversal1862
swing-back1862
flop1880
revert1895
throwback1923
swing-over1927
U-turn1929
right turn1940
swing-round1940
turnaround1941
turn-round1963
U-ey1976
switch-around1981
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > dislike of change, reaction > [noun]
reaction1792
statu quo-ism1834
retrogradism1849
reactionism1857
misoneism1886
reactionaryism1907
reactionariness1908
Blimpism1937
blimpery1940
immobilism1949
sclerosis1954
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [noun] > the right > reaction
reactionism1857
reactionaryism1907
reaction1935
1792 A. Young Trav. France 557 A most curious political combination, which seems to shew, that..where evils are of the most alarming tendency, there is a re-action, an under-current, that works against the apparent tide, and brings relief.
1816 Edinb. Rev. Dec. 480 All men dreaded what the French call a reaction. Napoleon checked every symptom of reaction, and..punished impartially all who infringed them [sc. the laws].
1830 W. Scott Old Mortality viii. (note) , in Tales of my Landlord (new ed.) III. 129 That perpetuating of factious quarrels, which is called in modern times Reaction.
1836 H. Smith Tin Trumpet I. 216 Like every other excess, fanaticism provokes a reaction.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 256 In the ancient as well as the modern world there were reactions from theory to experience.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 905/2 Those who yielded to stress of persecution fell back into Papalism and went to swell the..Catholic reaction.
1935 Amer. Mercury Feb. 241/1 In most contemporary newspapers, politico-economic reaction generally goes hand in hand with intellectual nakedness.
1974 tr. A. Snieckus Soviet Lithuania 29 Operating under conditions of extreme political reaction at home, the Communist Party of Lithuania skilfully combined legal and illegal forms of political activity.
2007 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 11 Feb. xiv. 12 The show's overarching theme is the familiar battle between progressive modernists and the forces of reaction. This is played out in the arena of the New York School of Art.
b. Finance. A fall in share prices, etc., following a rise.
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society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [noun] > decline in prices > after rising
reaction1818
1818 Edinb. Advertiser 27 Nov. 342/1 It is certain that, in spite of all the efforts that could be made, much individual loss must be sustained from over-speculation..On the other hand, no doubt was entertained that a re-action must speedily ensue.
1841 F. Wood in App. Congress. Globe (27th Congr., 1st Sess.) 279/3 We have been periodically visited by panics, revulsions, and distresses, inflations, and reactions.
1925 Scribner's Mag. Sept. 338/1 The mercurial American..sees either a coming ‘business boom’ or a season of ‘reaction’, and he usually bases his belief on visible tendencies in trade and industry.
1964 N.Y. Herald Tribune 1 Apr. 27/7 Investors talked so much about a ‘correction’ or ‘reaction’ to the sustained uptrend of the bull market, that the market finally began to hear them.
2007 Times (Nexis) 18 Apr. (Business section) 55 If something does go wrong, the share-price reaction could be brutal.
5. A mode of thought or behaviour which is deliberately different from previous modes; a movement which represents a conscious rejection of previous attitudes or values. Chiefly with against, to.
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1841 C. S. Henry tr. L. E. M. Bautain Epitome Hist. Philos. II. 95 We have pointed out how, in certain respects, the philosophy of Leibnitz was a reaction against that of Bacon, in other respects against that of Descartes.
1872 M. Creighton Hist. Ess. (1902) ii. 61 The general character of the early Renaissance, which was a reaction against scholasticism, against the monkery and bigotry of the Middle Ages.
1934 F. Walter tr. L. Lemonnier Populisme in PMLA 49 356 Populism is a reaction founded on the realistic tradition and directed against the literature of analysis.
1996 Observer 7 Jan. (Review section) 9/4 New Romantic was a reaction to the scruffiness of punk.
2001 M. Steel Reasons to be Cheerful ii. 22 Flaunting their newly discovered sexuality in a reaction against the years in which they've kept it hidden.
6. Positive feedback in a radio. Also: a reaction coil (see reaction coil n. (b) at Compounds 2). Now rare.
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society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > [noun] > signal > types of
reaction1917
relay1925
jab1932
read-out1959
squirt1968
1917 R. D. Bangay Elem. Princ. Wireless Telegr. (ed. 2) ii. 205 We now come to the final and most efficient method of utilising the properties of the magnifying valve for the purposes of reception of spark signals. It is known as the reaction method.
1920 Wireless World 24 July 327/2 The reaction may cause some howling if it is not in phase with the frame.
1922 A. C. Lescarboura Radio for Everybody i. 32 This small coil is frequently called the ‘tickler’ or reaction.
1943 C. L. Boltz Basic Radio xiv. 222 Reaction in the hands of the inveterate knob twiddler is a curse to everybody.
Compounds
C1.
reaction period n.
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1858 C. H. Jones in Retrospect Pract. Med. & Surg. 36 6 The coma..may proceed from increased flow of blood to the brain, and excessive congestion tending to effusion, when it will occur in the reaction period.
1887 Jrnl. Mental Sci. 32 604 Guicciardi and Tanzi have made a series of observations on the ‘reaction period’ in fourteen cases where there were hallucinations of hearing.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 916/1 All the Socialist press were gagged during the reaction period, which lasted fully twenty years.
1997 Radiation Res. 147 409 The duration of the initial reaction period depends on the concentrations of both DTT and Cu2+.
reaction potential n.
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1919 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 41 1900 The reaction potential of hydroxyl ions on silver anodes is only slightly above that of chloride ions.
1943 C. L. Hull Princ. Behavior xiv. 248 If the original drive is replaced by a strong second drive..the reaction potential to the execution of the habitual act will be stronger.
2000 R. A. Huggins in C. Julien & Z. Stoynov Materials for Lithium-ion Batteries 66 The stability window of the matrix phase must span the reaction potential of the reactant material.
reaction product n.
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1880 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 2 54 The reaction product contains diallyl, unaltered butyrone and the carbinol.
1947 A. H. Warth Chem. & Technol. Waxes vi. 283 To separate the unesterified wax alcohol the reaction product was extracted with hot ethanol in which the esters are insoluble.
1993 Frederick (Maryland) Post 4 Oct. a6/4 The random chance meeting of helium and oxygen will not produce a reaction product.
reaction rate n.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > reaction rate
reaction rate1902
1902 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 24 302 Inhibition, i.e. a marked reduction of the reaction rate under the influence of minute quantities of foreign substances.
1972 R. E. Weston & H. A. Schwarz Chem. Kinetics i. 3 Experimental studies of reactions generally involve the determination of reaction rates as a function of several variables: chemical composition, temperature, pressure, or volume.
2006 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) June 86/1 A number of factors control the speed of a firework reaction: the composition of the shell and other physical characteristics, such as..high pressure or confinement (which increases the reaction rate), [etc.].
reaction speed n.
ΚΠ
1902 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 24 279 In this part of the subject, dealing with chemical equilibrium and reaction speed, the author is particularly at home.
1964 A. Edel in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. xiv. 224 The comparable discovery of color blindness or different reaction-speed or influence of drugs or alcohol affects the concept of a reliable observer in other fields.
2004 Independent 18 Feb. i. 5/3 Red Bull: Energy drink with caffeine and taurine claimed to ‘vitalise the body and mind, increase endurance, improve and increase concentration and reaction speed.’
reaction stage n.
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1879 Lancet 27 Sept. 486/1 Convalescence may be more or less protracted, and the reaction stage may be attended by fever &c.
1971 B. Scharf Engin. & its Lang. xv. 207 Multi-stage turbines may be compound, i.e. they have both impulse and reaction stages.
1997 Clay Minerals 32 597 In a second reaction stage, these hydroxychlorides oxidize.
reaction threshold n.
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1908 Science 31 July 153/1 The safest test to make..is to determine the reaction threshold of the animal to all the hues of the spectrum.
1996 Jrnl. Allergy & Clin. Immunol. 98 1045 Erythema and pruritus intensity were recorded at each concentration of allergen up to the reaction threshold.
reaction velocity n.
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1893 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 15 447 The mutual dependence of vapor pressure and heat of vaporization, of electromotive force and heat of reaction, of reaction velocity and temperature,..are among the most brilliant results of exact science.
1946 Nature 21 Dec. 900/2 In the inactivation of cozymase by apozymase..the reaction velocity was little affected by variation in cozymase concentration.
1997 Appl. & Environmental Microbiol. 63 2850 The optimal reaction velocity was at pH 5.0.
C2.
reaction centre n. the site at which physical or chemical reaction occurs; (Biochemistry) the complex of protein and light-harvesting pigments at which the light reactions occur during photosynthesis.
ΚΠ
1884 G. M. Minchin Treat. Statics (ed. 3) I. ix. 221 It can be shown that the reaction at any joint is perpendicular and proportional to the line joining the joint to Q. This point Q is, therefore, a reaction centre for the system.
1925 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 107 274 This particular arrangement of the adsorbed molecule in relation to a definite group of atoms in the surface has been called a ‘Reaction Centre’.
1956 E. Rabinowitch Photosynthesis II. ii. xxxii. 1304 Energy trapped in its molecules..may have little chance to reach a ‘reaction center’ (assuming that resonance migration of energy to a reaction center is a necessary step in photosynthesis!).
2002 Trends Biochem. Sci. 27 79/1 Reaction centres are complexes of pigment and protein that convert the electromagnetic energy of sunlight into chemical potential energy.
reaction chamber n. (a) a vessel in which a chemical reaction occurs, esp. in an industrial process; (b) the combustion chamber of a rocket.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > vessels for other specific purposes > [noun] > in which chemical reaction occurs
reaction vessel1902
reactor1903
reaction chamber1909
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > rocket > [noun] > types of rocket engine > combustion chamber
combustion chamber1854
reaction chamber1909
1909 Jrnl. Industr. & Engin. Chem. Aug. 515/1 The gases are made to rapidly pass through the reaction chamber at high velocity.
1952 E. Burgess Rocket Propulsion iii. 61 The combustion chamber in which the burning takes place is sometimes known as the ‘blast’ or ‘reaction’ chamber.
1966 H. O. Ruppe Introd. Astronautics I. i. 10 An oxidizer and a fuel are stored in separate tanks, and transported by a feed system to the reaction chamber.
1994 Sci. Amer. Jan. 132 (caption) A suspected pathogen or a control sample moves to a reaction chamber, where it is mixed with chemical reagents.
reaction circuit n. Electronics (now rare) the part of the anode circuit of a thermionic valve which produces positive feedback in the grid circuit.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [noun] > valve circuits
grid circuit1916
reaction circuit1919
tank circuit1928
cascode1939
cathode follower1939
1919 Sci. Abstr. B. 22 291 The case of reaction circuits is also dealt with, and conclusions are drawn as to the audion characteristics of importance in a particular arrangement.
1931 Boys' Mag. 45 125/1 A simple capacity coupled inductive reaction circuit, better known as ‘swinging’ reaction.
reaction coil n. (a) a coiled tube in which a reaction takes place; (b) Electronics (now rare) an inductance coil included in the anode circuit of a thermionic valve so as to cause positive feedback in the grid circuit.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > thermionic valve > [noun] > fluctuation in anode current > inductance coil in anode circuit
reaction coil1915
tickler1922
tickler coil1940
1915 Jrnl. Industr. & Engin. Chem. July 573/2 The apparatus..consisted of a reaction coil built of one inch double extra strong iron pipe, about 63 ft. long.
1917 R. D. Bangay Elem. Princ. Wireless Telegr. (ed. 2) ii. 207 The amount of this extra E.M.F. induced in the grid coil by the reaction coil can be controlled by adjusting the coupling between the two windings.
1943 C. L. Boltz Basic Radio xiv. 221 With telephones on head hold the reaction coil in the hand and move towards the aerial coil.
2003 Pharmacol. Res. 47 487/2 NO2− was mixed with a Griess reagent to form a purple azo dye in a reaction coil in a column oven set at 35°C.
reaction drive n. Science Fiction a fictitious propulsion system for a spacecraft, powered by or involving some kind of reaction.
ΚΠ
1942 L. M. Jensen in Astounding Sci.-Fiction Dec. 108/2 Ben, you’ve been around the starliner business long enough, now, that you should know those old reaction-drive cans couldn’t be remodeled.
1970 J. Blish Spock must Die! x. 69 Even so small a ship as a seven-man reaction-drive shuttle offers abundant crannies in which to hole up.
1993 Sci. Fiction Age Jan. 42/2 Auxiliary systems, check. Prime reaction drive, check.
reaction engine n. any engine in which motive power is derived from the reaction exerted by a jet of escaping fluid (usually a gas).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > other types of engine > [noun] > reaction
reaction engine1849
reaction machine1852
reaction motor1900
1849 Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 10 31 In order to remedy this small defect , the Astronomer Royal had introduced the use of water-power (by the modern form of Barker's mill or reaction engine) as the moving force.
1868 Model Steam Eng. (1895) 82 Reaction or resistance engines, described at pages 7 and 8.
1946 R. A. Heinlein Let. 25 Oct. in R. A. Heinlein & V. Heinlein Grumbles from Grave (1990) 106 I am a mechanical engineer, a ballistician, a student of reaction engines.
1984 M. Dittrick & D. Dittrick No Uncertain Terms 35 A reaction engine..obtains from the surrounding atmosphere the oxygen needed for the combustion of its fuel.
reaction experiment n. Physiology (now historical) an experiment to investigate the time taken for a particular muscular reaction to occur in response to a sensory stimulus.
ΚΠ
1884 Mind 9 492 Prof. Stanley Hall's ‘subject’ (I presume while in the same hypnotic stage as he was in during the reaction-experiments) could gaze at a sunny window for 13 minutes without winking.
1893 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 6 242 Is the sensorial-muscular difference entirely conditioned by the technique of the ordinary reaction-experiment?
1933 J. C. Flügel Hundred Years Psychol. viii. 186 The reaction experiment was..a legacy both from the personal equation problems of the astronomers and from Helmholtz's measurement of the speed of the nervous impulse in the sensory nerves.
reaction force n. (a) a force equal and opposite to a force giving rise to it; cf. sense 2b; (b) Military a military unit kept in a state of readiness for rapid deployment to counter hostile activity; cf. quick-reaction force at quick adj., n.1, and adv. Compounds 1b, 2.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > division
battle1330
left winga1450
right winga1450
parsmenta1522
partimenta1522
battalion1589
division1600
battaliaa1616
fight1622
army unit1847
mobile unit1896
air arm1913
reaction force1923
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > squad, platoon, section, etc. > type of
awkward squad1796
ride1833
suicide squad1914
reaction force1923
1923 N.Y. Times 18 Dec. 18 He intends to eliminate the [airplane's] propeller altogether and trust for energy entirely to the reaction force of escaping gases.
1953 Amer. Heart Jrnl. 46 71 d2y/ dt2 is the internal reaction force of the blood on the body.
1964 Kansas City (Missouri) Star 22 Sept. 2/2 He may be with a reaction force that he has helped Lieutenant Son develop to fight the Viet Cong.
1991 New Civil Engineer 3 Oct. 21/1 This was achieved by jacking against the tower walls, the reaction force being passed down through an entirely new foundation to the chalk bedrock.
2001 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 65 1172 With poor intelligence..and a motley collection of support vehicles, Casper's reaction force fought a small, but intense urban battle.
reaction formation n. [after German Reaktionsbildung (1905 in the passage translated in quot. 1910)] Psychoanalysis (Freud's term for) the tendency of a repressed wish or feeling to be expressed in a contrasting form.
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the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > theories of Freud > [noun] > contrastive expression
reaction formation1910
reactive formation1946
1910 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Three Contrib. to Sexual Theory iii. 83 A sub-species of sublimation is the suppression through reaction-formation [Ger. Reaktionsbildung], which..begins even in the latency period of infancy.
1924 J. Riviere et al. tr. S. Freud Coll. Papers II. iv. 50 The permanent character-traits are either unchanged perpetuations of the original impulses, sublimations of them, or reaction-formations against them.
1974 W. B. Arndt Theories of Personality xvii. 349 Another common example of reaction formation is where repressed hostility for a person, say a mother's hostility toward her child, is converted by the ego into excessive concern for his well being.
1997 W. I. Miller Anat. Disgust i. 5 Freud was more expansive; he lumped disgust with shame and morality, treating them as ‘reaction formations’, whose function it is to inhibit the consummation of unconscious desire.
reaction index n. Broadcasting an assessment of an audience's reaction to a programme.
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society > communication > broadcasting > audience > [noun] > measure of audience reaction
reaction index1951
1951 Public Opinion Q. 15 102 The information for each program which is computed from the cards is..a ‘Reaction Index’ computed from the viewers' ratings of their enjoyment.
1972 Listener 7 Sept. 295/3 If radio had existed in the mid-1820s, a series of late Beethoven quartets would have had..a ‘Reaction Index’ (that's the measure of appreciation) too low to be mentioned.
1999 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 29 Aug. 5 Audiences..are also tuning in for longer..and enjoying what they hear more intensely: reaction indices for drama are up by a couple of points.
reaction jet n. a jet engine used to provide intermittent thrust for changing or correcting the velocity of a spacecraft; also in extended use.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > jet > types of
jet turbine1878
ramjet1945
pulse jet1946
plasma engine1958
reaction jet1959
fan-jet1963
1946 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 14 Apr. 10/2 Having reached altitude, the pilot could use a Walter chemical reaction jet engine for power.]
1959 Science 30 Jan. 257/3 If the launching succeeds,..small reaction jets will shift the orientation of the long axis of the capsule from the vertical to the horizontal.
1972 P. Moore Can you speak Venusian? xv. 153 Dr. Barber..proposes to fit large reaction jets to the tops of mountains on opposite sides of the world... When the tilt begins, one simply switches on the jets.
1998 Jrnl. Guidance, Control & Dynamics 21 441/2 The aerodynamic forces may depend upon whether reaction jets are on or off.
reaction machine n. = reaction engine n.; (also) a thing that merely reacts, an automaton.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > other types of engine > [noun] > reaction
reaction engine1849
reaction machine1852
reaction motor1900
1852 J. Bennett tr. J. F. d'Aubuisson de Voisins Treat. Hydraulics 446 This very year (1838), M. Combes, mining engineer, took up the theory of reäction machines [Fr. machines à réaction].
1924 N. Wilde Ethical Basis of State iii. 46 Hobbes is a materialistic determinist, and his human nature a physical reaction machine.
1972 D. G. Shepherd Aerospace Propulsion i. 4 It should also be recognized that the propeller operates by the same basic principle... Thus all propulsion systems are reaction machines, although this is often popularly attached only to jet engines.
1991 H. H. Waggoner in E. H. Cady & L. J. Budd On Frost 29 He holds that man is man, not a reaction machine, and that value judgments in ethics, esthetics, and social philosophy are not nonsense syllables.
reaction mechanism n. the sequence of actions which together constitute a reaction; spec. the steps (as bond breakage or formation, electron transfer, etc.) involved in a chemical reaction (cf. mechanism n. 2c).
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > reaction mechanism
reaction mechanism1909
1909 Science 5 Nov. 625/1 Such a broad and deep knowledge of organic chemistry that he can recognize wrong interpretations of reaction mechanisms almost by intuition.
1953 A. A. Frost & R. G. Pearson Kinetics & Mechanism i. 1 Kinetics deals with the rate of chemical reaction, with all factors which influence the rate of reaction, and with the explanation of the rate in terms of the reaction mechanism.
1995 Chem. in Brit. Oct. 834/1 (advt.) The Department..has particular research strengths in the areas of..supported reagents, reaction mechanisms and synthetic organic chemistry.
reaction mixture n. a mixture in which a reaction occurs; a mixture of reactants.
ΚΠ
1895 C. S. Palmer tr. W. Nernst Theoret. Chem. 362 One or more of the products of the reaction either crystallise out or evaporate off from the reaction mixture, and hence the inverse reaction becomes impossible.
1948 W. W. Pigman & R. M. Goepp Chem. of Carbohydrates iv. i. 152 More complete esterification can be brought about by the presence of sulfuric acid in the reaction mixture.
1997 W. R. Clark New Healers xi. 200 The original strands as well as the primers and the newly minted DNA products all separate, and the reaction mixture is cooled.
reaction motor n. = reaction engine n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > other types of engine > [noun] > reaction
reaction engine1849
reaction machine1852
reaction motor1900
1900 Times 6 Jan. 14/1 Coming to the type of reaction motor depending on this phenomenon, Mr. Boys gave a brief outline of the theory of the turbine.
1935 C. G. Philp Stratosphere & Rocket Flight xi. 54 In its simplest terms the reaction motor most favoured at present takes the form of a rocket.
2006 Jrnl. Electrostatics 64 450/1 Shock wave control has application in different areas including supersonic and hypersonic vehicles, gas turbines, reaction motors.
reaction pattern n. an established pattern of reacting to something; spec. a fixed or unchanging behavioural or neurological reaction.
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the mind > mental capacity > psychology > experimental psychology > stimulus-response > response > [noun] > pattern of
reaction pattern1914
1914 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 25 362 The cat family has thus on this hypothesis developed in man a reaction pattern with some quite specific features.
1974 V. B. Mountcastle et al. Med. Physiol. (ed. 13) II. lii. 1212/2 This complex neuromuscular reaction pattern can be initiated by stimulation of a single afferent nerve, the superior laryngeal.
2002 Jrnl. Negro Educ. 71 154 Subjective responses can be useful in uncovering reaction patterns and preferred coping mechanisms.
reaction process n. a process constituting or involving a reaction, esp. a chemical reaction.
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1872 L. Smith tr. L. E. Grüner Manuf. Steel iii. 94 I advised..a mixture of cast iron of a steely nature, and superior wrought iron, or pure oxyds, for the reaction process.
1922 Amer. Jrnl. Psychiatry 2 59 The manic-depressive group alone shows a normally small amount of fluctuation of attention to the reaction process.
1947 A. H. Warth Chem. & Technol. Waxes vii. 307 For practical purposes, the acid mixture is saponified and unsaponifiable residues are returned to the reaction process.
1997 Jrnl. Physiol. 499 27 The antagonism followed a bimolecular reaction process.
reaction propulsion n. [compare French propulsion par réaction (1932)] Astronautics a form of propulsion which utilizes the reaction exerted by escaping fluid as the source of motive power; spec. jet or rocket propulsion.
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the world > movement > impelling or driving > [noun] > propulsion > rocket or jet propulsion
jet propulsion1855
ion propulsion1921
reaction propulsion1935
ion drive1947
1935 C. G. Philp Stratosphere & Rocket Flight ii. 5 Reaction propulsion may be said to date from 1919, in which year Professor Goddard..announced to the world the results of his researches made with rockets.
2003 Adv. in Space Res. 31 1971 Solar sails can expand the envelope of possible missions, enabling new high-energy mission concepts that are essentially impossible for conventional reaction propulsion.
reaction rim n. Geology a zone of one mineral enclosing another and formed by the reaction of the core with its surroundings.
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the world > the earth > minerals > mineral structure or appearance > [noun] > enclosure > reaction rim
reaction rim1888
1886 Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. No. 28. 52 Wherever it comes in contact with the olivine, the peculiar reactionary rims of amphibole described by Törnebohm..are finely developed.]
1888 Amer. Naturalist 22 348 The garnets are frequently surrounded by a rim of hornblende and plagioclase, which, however, the author is disinclined to regard as a reaction rim, but..rather..as a growth around the garnet in the centre.
2002 Nature 7 Mar. 80/2 These reaction rims can have a pseudoseptate appearance owing to the contraction and microfracturing of the amorphous granite.
reaction shot n. Film and Television a shot in a film, video, etc., depicting a person's response to an event, statement, or the like.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > production of television broadcast > [noun] > shot > types of shot
long shot1858
close-up1913
medium shot1925
travelling shot1927
medium close-up1933
reverse angle1933
three-shot1934
tilt shot1934
reaction shot1937
tracking shot1940
Dutch angle1947
two-shot1949
mid shot1953
freeze1960
freeze-frame1960
freeze-shot1960
frozen-frame1960
pack shot1960
noddy1982
arc shot1989
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > shot > [noun] > types of
long shot1858
glass shot1908
close-up1913
aerial shot1920
angle shot1922
medium shot1925
far-away1926
travelling shot1927
zoom1930
zoom shot1930
process shot1931
close-medium shot1933
medium close-up1933
reverse angle1933
reverse shot1934
three-shot1934
tilt shot1934
medium-close shot1937
reaction shot1937
tracking shot1940
pan shot1941
stock shot1941
Dutch angle1947
cheat shot1948
establishing shot1948
master-scene1948
trucking shot1948
two-shot1949
bridging shot1951
body shot1952
library shot1953
master shot1953
mid shot1953
MS1953
pullback1957
MCU1959
noddy1982
arc shot1989
pop shot1993
1937 A. Hitchcock in C. Davy Footnotes to Film i. 9 One way of using the camera to give emphasis is the reaction shot. By the reaction shot I mean any close-up which illustrates an event by showing instantly the reaction to it of a person or group.
1966 Guardian 11 Aug. 8/2 The Select Committee on televising the House of Commons..was understandably cautious about ‘reaction shots’, by which the committee meant pictures not only of the member addressing the House..but of other members reacting to his speech.
2007 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 2 Sept. (Arts section) 58 Everyone is TV literate now. Kids fooling around in their bedrooms understand how to fake a reaction shot.
reaction time n. (a) the delay between receiving a stimulus and responding to it; (b) the duration of a chemical reaction.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > stimulation > [noun] > reaction time
reaction time1874
1874 Scribner's Monthly Nov. 126/1 In quick, energetic people the reaction time is longer than in the phlegmatic.
1913 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 35 902 The reaction time, for complete conversion, is increased five minutes or more.
1923 R. A. Knox Memories of Future v. 73 He looked at my tongue, X-rayed me, felt my pulse, took my reaction-times, and shook his head importantly.
1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 22 July 192/2 The N.R.C. technique tests reaction times that may be slowed by alcohol, drugs, fatigue or emotional stress, and seeks to plug the breathalizer gap.
2000 Adv. Driving (Inst. Adv. Motorists) Summer 55/2 The average reaction time is about 2/3rds of a second—the thinking distance in the ‘Typical Stopping Distances’ shown in the Highway Code.
2001 Chem. & Materials from Renewable Resources (ACS Symp. Ser. No. 784) xiv. 184 Increasing the functionality of the phenolic component..decreases the reaction time needed to reach the gel point.
reaction turbine n. [after French turbine hydraulique à réaction (C. Burdin 1828, in Ann. des mines 3 517)] a turbine in which the working fluid accelerates or expands and undergoes a drop in pressure in passing across or through the rotor, which is thereby propelled in the opposite direction to the flow; cf. impulse turbine n. at impulse n. Compounds 2.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > turbine > [noun] > reaction
Jonval1851
reaction turbine1852
1852 J. Bennett tr. J. F. d'Aubuisson de Voisins Treat. Hydraulics 441 M. Burdin has never seen the useful effect of his reäction turbines below 0.65PH.
1929 T. M. Naylor Steam Turbines i. 3 The only pure reaction turbines in use are of very small power, and are used for fluids other than steam, e.g. the garden sprinkler.
1993 Proc. Inst. Mech. Engineers A. 207 165 (title) Derivation of the torque-speed characteristic of a reaction turbine.
reaction type n. Psychology (a) (in behavioural typology) a physical or personality type which is expected to react in specific ways to a stimulus; (b) a specified type of psychological reaction.
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the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of personality > psychology of types > [noun] > with specific reactions
reaction type1895
1895 Mind 4 75 Lange's discrimination of the two reaction-types suggested to O. Külpe the thought that the quality of the psycho-physical disposition would not be indifferent in the case of wholly automatic movements or coordinations.
1904 Psychol. Bull. 1 230 The chief directions in which Kraepelin has stimulated his associates to work psychologically, are a number of more biological than purely psychological reaction-types, such as retardation and inhibition, flight of ideas, etc.
1917 C. E. Long tr. C. G. Jung Coll. Papers Analyt. Psychol. (ed. 2) iii. 158 Relatives, and especially related women, have therefore on the average, resemblance in reaction-type.
1934 E. B. Strauss tr. E. Kretschmer Text-bk. Med. Psychol. xiii. 184 In our description of the various reaction-types we shall make use of psychopathological instead of normal material.
1998 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 111 284 Lange..had found subjects who did not consistently show the typical difference between the two reaction types.
reaction vessel n. = reaction chamber n. (a).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > vessels for other specific purposes > [noun] > in which chemical reaction occurs
reaction vessel1902
reactor1903
reaction chamber1909
1902 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 199 339 Pure dry chlorine and carbon monoxide were freshly prepared in the dark, and there introduced into a reaction vessel.
1993 New Scientist 3 July 16/1 In what are known as ‘one-pot’ reactions, chemists simply throw three or more ingredients into a reaction vessel.
reaction waterwheel n. now chiefly historical = reaction wheel n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > driven by water
waterwheel1408
flood-wheel1515
breast wheel1744
overshot1760
undershot wheel1760
breast-shot1775
bucket-wheel1797
tub-wheel1815
flutter-wheel1817
danaide1825
wheel1842
reaction waterwheel1847
reaction wheel1852
tide-wheel1864
hurdy-gurdy1868
stream-wheel1875
paddle wheela1884
Pelton1885
turbine-pump1900
1847 Sci. Amer. 10 July 332/3 (heading) Improvements in reaction water wheels.
1979 Technol. & Culture 20 289 (caption) Segner's reaction waterwheel. Water in the reservoir AB passed through the arm FE and spouted out the orifice at F.
reaction wheel n. [probably after French roue à réaction (1834 or earlier); compare also German Reaktionsrad (1856 or earlier as Reactionsrad)] now chiefly historical a waterwheel impelled by the action of escaping water; cf. impulse-wheel n. at impulse n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > driven by water
waterwheel1408
flood-wheel1515
breast wheel1744
overshot1760
undershot wheel1760
breast-shot1775
bucket-wheel1797
tub-wheel1815
flutter-wheel1817
danaide1825
wheel1842
reaction waterwheel1847
reaction wheel1852
tide-wheel1864
hurdy-gurdy1868
stream-wheel1875
paddle wheela1884
Pelton1885
turbine-pump1900
1840 Z. Parker & R. McKelvey U.S. Patent 1658 1/1 The percussion and reaction wheel..is inclosed in a box or case, which is denominated a ‘draft’..the mouth of said draft dipping into the water.]
1852 J. Bennett tr. J. F. d'Aubuisson de Voisins Treat. Hydraulics 441 Reäction Wheels. We designate by this name, machines in which the water..which issues from them with a certain effort, reäcts upon the parts of the machine opposite the orifices of issue with an equal effort.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1887/2 Perley and Pattee's saw-mill..has 6 gang-saws, each driven by a Rowe reaction-wheel, 5 feet in diameter.
2003 Nat. New Eng. Fall 65/2 The cast iron ‘reaction wheel’ was introduced in the early 1800s with a number of advantages over the wooden water wheel.
reaction wood n. a type of wood with modified anatomical and biochemical features found in leaning stems and in the lower (in gymnosperms) or upper (in angiosperms) sides of branches; cf. compression wood n. at compression n. Compounds 2, tension wood n. at tension n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > wood > [noun] > juvenile or reaction wood
redwood1916
tension wood1924
compression wood1925
reaction wood1948
juvenile wood1956
1948 Austral. Jrnl. Sci. Res. B. 1 1 (title) The nature of reaction wood.
1980 Family Handyman Sept. 70/3 The fruitwoods (cherry, apple) are more difficult [to dry out], depending upon the size of the log and the presence or absence of reaction wood.
2004 Plant Physiol. 135 212/1 Displacement of stems and branches by wind or mechanical stress in woody species results in the formation of reaction wood.
reaction word n. Psychology (in a word association test) a word given by a subject in response to a stimulus word.
ΚΠ
1901 Mind 10 566 They fall, again, into..(3) those in which the reaction-word is thus attended, and (4) those in which both words have conscious concomitants.
1920 T. P. Nunn Education v. 44 The subject's memory does not throw up a number of suggestions from which a suitable reaction-word is consciously selected.
2001 H. V. Hall & J. G. Poirier Detecting Malingering & Deception (ed. 2) 208 Reaction words were suggested by objects in the room or by earlier words in the series.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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