molecular

Pluralmoleculars

1. 1
   adjective

   Relating to molecules, made up of molecules, or produced by them.

   Researchers used X-rays to work out the molecular structure of the protein.

   A gas spreads to fill its container because of constant molecular motion.

   Note

   Chemistry's level just above the single atom: molecular structure is the way atoms are bonded into a molecule, and molecular weight the combined mass of those atoms. Built from molecule with the suffix -ar, the adjective does not compare, and it also names whole fields, as in molecular biology, the study of life at the scale of DNA and proteins.

2. 2
   adjective

   Relating to molecular gastronomy, a style of cooking that uses scientific methods and equipment.

   The restaurant's molecular dishes include olive oil turned into a fine powder.

   He trained in molecular cuisine before opening a simple neighborhood bistro.

   Note

   In restaurant talk the word stands in for the whole of molecular gastronomy, so molecular dishes, a molecular menu or molecular cuisine all mean cooking built on laboratory methods. It describes the technique rather than the ingredients, which are ordinary foods changed in texture or form, such as olive oil turned to powder.

3. 3
   adjective

   Of a chemical element, combined only with itself and with no other element; in elemental form.

   Plants release molecular oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis.

   At very high temperatures, molecular hydrogen splits into separate hydrogen atoms.

   Oppositeatomic

   Note

   Chemists use it to set an element's bonded form against its lone atoms. Molecular oxygen is the ordinary gas, its atoms bonded in pairs, while atomic oxygen is the single, highly reactive atom; hydrogen and nitrogen are contrasted the same way, since they too normally exist as molecules of their own atoms.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A compound with a specified molecular weight or range of molecular weights.

   The resin is a high molecular, so very little of it evaporates during curing.

   Light crude oil contains more low moleculars than heavy crude does.

   Note

   The noun comes with its weight attached, usually high or low: a resin is a high molecular, and light crude carries more low moleculars than heavy crude. It belongs to technical chemistry writing; in general prose the adjective with the weight spelled out, as in a high-molecular-weight compound, is clearer.

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