zone refiningnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zone refining mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zone refining. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
Entry status
OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.
How common is the noun zone refining?
| 1950 | 0.075 |
| 1960 | 0.064 |
| 1970 | 0.055 |
| 1980 | 0.049 |
| 1990 | 0.045 |
| 2000 | 0.028 |
| 2010 | 0.022 |
Where does the noun zone refining come from?
Earliest known use
1950s
The earliest known use of the noun zone refining is in the 1950s.
OED's earliest evidence for zone refining is from 1952, in the writing of W. G. Pfann.
Nearby entries
- zonelet, n.1855–
- zone level, v.1974–
- zone leveller, n.1956–
- zone levelling, n.1953–
- zone-melt, v.1982–
- zone melting, n.1952–
- zone plate, n.1890–
- zoner, n.1962–
- zone-refine, v.1962–
- zone refiner, n.1959–
- zone refining, n.1952–
- zone therapy, n.1915–
- zone time, n.1908–
- Zonian, n.1910–
- zonic, adj.1797–
- zoning, n.a1821–
- zonite, n.1860–
- zonitic, adj.1888–
- zonk, v.1950–
- zonk, int.1949–
- zonked, adj.1959–
Meaning & use
- 1952–A method of refining used to produce semiconductors and metals of very high purity by causing narrow zones of molten material to travel slowly along an otherwise solid rod or bar, so that impurities become concentrated at one end or the other if their solubilities in the liquid and the solid phases differ.
- 1952
The particular merit of zone-refining becomes evident when repeated crystallizations are desired.
W. G. Pfann in Journal Metals vol. IV. 750/2 - 1973
Probably the most effective and generally used method of refining to this kind of standard is zone refining.
J. G. Tweeddale, Materials Technology vol. I. vi. 152
society occupation and work industry working with specific materials working with metal [nouns] refining methods of- calcinationc1386–The action or process of calcining; reduction by fire to a ‘calx’, powder, or friable substance; the subjecting of any infusible substance to a…
- calciningc1386–The process of reducing to a calx, burning to ashes, or subjecting to a roasting heat.
- liquation1471–Metallurgy. The action or process of separating metals by fusion.
- fulmination1617–1730Metallurgy. The sudden production of a bright appearance in a metal during refining. Cf. fulguration, n. 2. Obsolete.
- cupelling1644–= cupellation, n.
- decrepitating1662–
- decrepitation1669–The action of decrepitate, v.: (a) the calcining of a salt or mineral until it ceases to crackle with the heat; (b) the crackling and…
- fulguration1676–Metallurgy. Iridescence or brightness shown by a metal during refining, esp. that of silver during cupellation, when only a thin film of lead oxide…
- concentration1689–The extraction or separation of gold, silver, or other metal present in an alloy, solution, etc. Now rare.
- cupellationa1691–The process of assaying or refining the precious metals in a cupel; the separation of silver from argentiferous lead, on a large scale, on a cupel.
- scorification1755–The process of reducing to scoria; formation of scoria or slag; spec. as a method of refining or assay.
- affination1851–Metallurgy. The process of refining (precious) metal, esp. by treatment with hot concentrated sulfuric acid.
- electrorefining1890–The refining of metal by an electrochemical process, typically by means of an electrolytic cell in which the impure metal forms the anode or is…
- thermite process1905–The reduction of finely divided oxides of iron or other metals by means of an exothermic reaction with finely divided aluminium; also, thermite…
- zone melting1952–= zone refining, n.
- zone refining1952–A method of refining used to produce semiconductors and metals of very high purity by causing narrow zones of molten material to travel slowly…
- zone levelling1953–A process similar to zone refining in which the molten zone is passed repeatedly to and fro to produce a more homogeneous material.
Frequency
zone refining typically occurs about 0.04 times per million words in modern written English.
zone refining is in frequency band 3, which contains words occurring between 0.01 and 0.1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zone refining, n., 1950–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.
For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.
| Decade | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.075 |
| 1960 | 0.064 |
| 1970 | 0.055 |
| 1980 | 0.049 |
| 1990 | 0.045 |
| 2000 | 0.028 |
| 2010 | 0.022 |