Scintillation

3 definitions found

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

  Scintillation \Scin`til*la"tion\, n. [L. scintillatio: cf. F.
     scintillation.]
     1. The act of scintillating.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A spark or flash emitted in scintillating.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              These scintillations are . . . the inflammable
              effluences discharged from the bodies collided.
                                                    --Sir T.
                                                    Browne.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  scintillation
       n 1: (physics) a flash of light that is produced in a phosphor
            when it absorbs a photon or ionizing particle
       2: a rapid change in brightness; a brief spark or flash [syn: {twinkle},
           {sparkling}]
       3: a brilliant display of wit
       4: the quality of glittering or sparkling brightly [syn: {glitter},
           {glister}, {glisten}, {sparkle}]
       5: the twinkling of the stars caused when changes in the
          density of the earth's atmosphere produce uneven
          refraction of starlight

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  78 Moby Thesaurus words for "scintillation":
     aphorism, apothegm, black spot, blink, blinking, bloom, blooping,
     bon mot, boutade, bright idea, bright thought, brilliant idea,
     conceit, coruscation, crack, definition, epigram, facetiae,
     firefly, flare, flash of wit, flight of wit, fringe area, ghost,
     gibe, glance, glimmer, glimmering, glint, glisten, glister,
     glitter, glittering, glowworm, granulation, grid, happy thought,
     hard shadow, image, mot, multiple image, nasty crack, noise,
     persiflage, picture, picture noise, picture shifts, play of wit,
     pleasantry, quip, quips and cranks, rain, repartee, retort,
     riposte, rolling, sally, scanning pattern, scintilla, shading,
     shimmer, shimmering, smart crack, smart saying, snappy comeback,
     snow, snowstorm, spangle, spark, sparkle, stroboscopic light,
     stroke of wit, tinsel, turn of thought, twinkle, twinkling,
     wisecrack, witticism