Implosion

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Implosion \Im*plo"sion\, n. [Formed by substitution of pref. im-
     in for pref. ex- in explosion.]
     1. A bursting inwards, as of a vessel from which the air has
        been exhausted; -- contrasted with {explosion}.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. Hence: The inward-moving detonation wave cause by
        detonation of explosives arrayed spherically around a
        core; -- a technique used in atomic bombs to compress
        fissionable material to allow a chain reaction time to
        produce an explosion of the fissionable material.
        [PJC]
  
     3. (Phon.) A sudden compression of the air in the mouth,
        simultaneously with and affecting the sound made by the
        closure of the organs in uttering p, t, or k, at the end
        of a syllable (see Guide to Pronunciation,
        [sect][sect]159, 189); also, a similar compression made by
        an upward thrust of the larynx without any accompanying
        explosive action, as in the peculiar sound of b, d, and g,
        heard in Southern Germany. --H. Sweet.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  implosion
       n 1: a sudden inward collapse; "the implosion of a light bulb"
       2: the initial occluded phase of a stop consonant