Home UK English p-process

Meaning of p-process in English:

p-process

noun

Astronomy

  • A process believed to occur in stars by which heavy proton-rich nuclei are formed from other nuclei, especially in circumstances of high proton flux or in the presence of high-energy photons (e.g. in supernovae).

Origin

1950s; earliest use found in Fred Hoyle (1915–2001), astronomer. From the initial letter of proton.