contraterrene
English
Alternative forms
- contra-terrene, contra terrene
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌkɒntɹətəˈɹiːn/
Adjective
contraterrene (not comparable)
- (obsolete in physics, science fiction) Made of or pertaining to antimatter.
- 1952, Science Digest, volume 31, page 67:
- This means just one thing: the instant contraterrene matter struck ordinary matter, a terrific explosion would occur!
- 1957, John W. Campbell, Islands of Space:
- Then I started jacking up the voltage, and modified the thing with a double-polarity field somewhat similar to the molecular motion field except that it works on a sub-nucleonic level. As a result, about half of the lead fed into the chamber became contraterrene lead! The atoms just turned themselves inside out, so to speak, giving us an atom with positrons circling a negatively charged nucleus.
References
- “contraterrene, adj.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
- Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “contraterrene, adj.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.
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