transition

transition
transitional, transitionary /tran zish"euh ner'ee, -sish"-/, adj.transitionally, adv.
/tran zish"euhn, -sish"-/, n.
1. movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change: the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
2. Music.
a. a passing from one key to another; modulation.
b. a brief modulation; a modulation used in passing.
c. a sudden, unprepared modulation.
3. a passage from one scene to another by sound effects, music, etc., as in a television program, theatrical production, or the like.
v.i.
4. to make a transition: He had difficulty transitioning from enlisted man to officer.
[1545-55; < L transition- (s. of transitio) a going across, equiv. to transit(us) (ptp. of transire to cross; cf. TRANSIT) + -ion- -ION]
Syn. 1. changeover, passing, conversion.

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      alteration of a physical system from one state, or condition, to another. In atomic and particle physics, transitions are often described as being allowed or forbidden (see selection rule). Allowed transitions are those that have high probability of occurring, as in the case of short-lived radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. In three-millionths of a second, for instance, half of any sample of unstable polonium-212 becomes stable lead-208 by ejecting alpha particles (helium-4 nuclei) from individual atomic nuclei. Forbidden transitions, on the other hand, are those that have a high probability of not occurring. A strictly forbidden transition is one that cannot occur at all.

      A transition may be forbidden by some basic conservation law such as the conservation of angular momentum, which inhibits light and other electromagnetic energy from being emitted in certain transitions within excited atoms and nuclei, or the conservation of electric charge, which strictly forbids electrons from decaying into even more elementary particles.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • transition — [ trɑ̃zisjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1501 « procédé rhétorique »; lat. transitio, proprt « passage » 1 ♦ Manière de passer de l expression d une idée à une autre, de lier les parties d un discours. ⇒ passage. L art des transitions. Ménager les transitions.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Transition — or transitional may refer to:*Transition (genetics) *Transitional fossil *Transition (grappling) *Transition metal *Transition state * Transition: an operation of a finite state machine *Transition function *Transition flying car *Transition… …   Wikipedia

  • transition — tran‧si‧tion [trænˈzɪʆn, ˈsɪ ] noun [countable, uncountable] formal the act or process of changing from one state or form to another: • The computer company went through a difficult transition period. • Three directors are expected to retire… …   Financial and business terms

  • Transition — (lat. für ‚Übergang‘, trans·ire ‚überschreiten, übergehen‘) bezeichnet: Transition (Zeitschrift), US amerikanisches vierteljährliches Magazin für schwarze Intellektuelle Terrafugia Transition, ein US amerikanisches Flugauto beim Snowboarden bzw.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Transition — Tran*si tion, n. [L. transitio: cf. F. transition. See {Transient}.] 1. Passage from one place or state to another; charge; as, the transition of the weather from hot to cold. [1913 Webster] There is no death, what seems so is transition.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • transition — TRANSITION. s. f. Passage d une matiere à une autre, d un raisonnement a un autre, par des termes par des discours qui les lient. Belle transition, aisee, ingenieuse. il a passé à une nouvelle matiere sans aucune transition. les transitions font… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • transition — [tran zish′ən, transish′ən] n. [L transitio < transitus: see TRANSIT] 1. a) a passing from one condition, form, stage, activity, place, etc. to another b) the period of such passing 2. a word, phrase, sentence, or group of sentences that… …   English World dictionary

  • transition — transition. См. транзиция. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • Transition — (lat.), Übergang, Übergehung; transitiv, übergehend; Transitivum, s. Verbum …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Transition — (lat.), Übergang; Übergehung; transitīv, überleitend, hinübergehend; Transitivum, s. Verbum …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Transition — Transition, lat. transitus, Uebergang; Uebergehung; transitiv, übergehend; ein transitives Verbum ist ein solches, dessen Thätigkeit ein Object hat; transitorisch, zum Ueber oder Durchgang bestimmt; vorübergehend, vergänglich …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

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