| melt | <zoology> See Milt. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| meltdown | <radiobiology> In a fission reactor, if there is insufficient coolant or the fission chain reaction proceeds too rapidly, heat can build up in the reactor fuel, causing it to melt. In extreme cases the whole fission core can melt down to (or even through) the reactor floor. Fusion reactors are not vulnerable to this. (09 Oct 1997) |
| melting | Liquefaction; the act of causing (something) to melt, or the process of becoming melted. <chemistry> Melting point, the degree of temperature at which a solid substance melts or fuses; as, the melting point of ice is 0 deg Centigrade or 32 deg Fahr, that of urea is 132 deg Centigrade. Melting pot, a vessel in which anything is melted; a crucible. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| melting point | The temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid, the temperature at which 50% of a macromolecule becomes denatured. (05 Mar 2000) |
| melting sign | <radiology> Regression of consolidation from periphery to centre, seen in pulmonary infarction, appears within days to weeks (12 Dec 1998) |
| melting temperature | The midpoint in the change in optical properties (absorbance, rotation) of a structured polymer (e.g., DNA) with increasing temperature. Synonym: melting temperature. (05 Mar 2000) |
| melting temperature of DNA | That temperature at which, under a given set of conditions, double-stranded DNA is changed (50%) to single-stranded DNA; under standard conditions, the base composition of the DNA can be estimated from the denaturation temperature, since the greater the denaturation temperature, the greater the guanine-plus-cytosine content (i.e., GC content) of the DNA. Synonym: melting temperature of DNA. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Meltzer's law | "all living functions are continually controlled by two opposite forces: augmentation or action on the one hand, and inhibition on the other." Synonym: law of contrary innervation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Meltzer, Samuel | <person> U.S. Physiologist, 1851-1920. See: Meltzer's law, Meltzer-Lyon test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Meltzer-Lyon test | A test used in diagnosis of gallbladder conditions: 25 ml of a 25% solution of magnesium sulfate are delivered into the region of the sphincter of Oddi through a duodenal tube, causing contraction of the gallbladder, relaxation of the sphincter, and the expulsion of bile from the common duct and gallbladder; bile from the common duct is relatively pale and is expelled first, that from the gallbladder follows; samples aspirated from the tube are examined for pus cells, pigment granules, epithelial cells, cholesterol, etc. (05 Mar 2000) |