from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Atomic \A*tom"ic\, Atomical \A*tom"ic*al\, a. [Cf. F. atomique.]
1. Of or pertaining to atoms.
[1913 Webster]
2. Extremely minute; tiny.
[1913 Webster]
{Atomic bomb}, see {atom bomb} in the vocabulary.
{Atomic philosophy}, or {Doctrine of atoms}, a system which,
assuming that atoms are endued with gravity and motion,
accounted thus for the origin and formation of all things.
This philosophy was first broached by Leucippus, was
developed by Democritus, and afterward improved by
Epicurus, and hence is sometimes denominated the Epicurean
philosophy.
{Atomic theory}, or the {Doctrine of definite proportions}
(Chem.), teaches that chemical combinations take place
between the supposed ultimate particles or atoms of
bodies, in some simple ratio, as of one to one, two to
three, or some other, always expressible in whole numbers.
{Atomic weight} (Chem.), the weight of the atom of an element
as compared with the weight of the atom of hydrogen, taken
as a standard.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Atom bomb \At"om bomb`\, Atomic bomb \A*tom"ic bomb`\n.
a bomb of great power in which the explosive energy is
derived from the nuclear fission of a fissionable material,
such as plutonium or uranium-235. It is a type of nuclear
weapon. The strength of an atom bomb is measured in kilotons,
i.e. the equivalent energy released by explosion of a
thousand tons of TNT. The first atomic bomb was manufactured
in 1945.
Syn: A-bomb, fission bomb.
[PJC] Atomic