zone meltingnoun
Factsheet
What does the noun zone melting mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zone melting. 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 melting?
| 1950 | 0.067 |
| 1960 | 0.058 |
| 1970 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 0.044 |
| 1990 | 0.041 |
| 2000 | 0.024 |
| 2010 | 0.019 |
Where does the noun zone melting come from?
Earliest known use
1950s
The earliest known use of the noun zone melting is in the 1950s.
OED's earliest evidence for zone melting is from 1952, in the writing of W. G. Pfann.
Nearby entries
- zoned, adj.1662–
- zone defence | zone defense, n.1927–
- zone electrophoresis, n.1952–
- zone fossil, n.1904–
- zoneless, adj.1748–
- 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–
Meaning & use
- 1952–
- 1952
A number of procedures will be indicated which have in common the traversal of a relatively long charge of solid alloy by a small molten zone. Such methods will be denoted by the general term zone-melting.
W. G. Pfann in Journal Metals vol. IV. 747/1 - 1965
All such techniques as precipitation, partition, distillation, crystallization, chromatography, and zone-melting are based on phase equilibria.
C. S. G. Phillips & R. J. P. Williams, Inorganic Chemistry vol. I. viii. 305 - 1983
The use of the heater assembly in the specific case of zone melting of mercury cadmium telluride compounds is described.
Review of Scientific Instruments vol. LIV. 385/2
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 melting typically occurs about 0.04 times per million words in modern written English.
zone melting 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 melting, 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 | 0.067 |
| 1960 | 0.058 |
| 1970 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 0.044 |
| 1990 | 0.041 |
| 2000 | 0.024 |
| 2010 | 0.019 |