Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Biology Having a latticelike structure or appearance.
- adjective Chemistry Of or relating to inclusion complexes in which molecules of one substance are completely enclosed within the crystal structure of another.
- noun A clathrate compound, such as methane hydrate.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In botany and zoology, latticed; divided like latticework; specifically, in entomology, clathrose. Also
clathroid .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective (Bot.) Shaped like a lattice; cancellate.
- adjective (Zoöl.) Having the surface marked with raised lines resembling a lattice, as many shells.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective biology having a
lattice -like structure - adjective chemistry of an
inclusion complex in whichmolecules of onecompound are enclosed within thecrystal structure of another - noun chemistry a
clathrate compound
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective designating or relating to a compound in which one component is physically enclosed within the crystal structure of another
- adjective having a latticelike structure pierced with holes or windows
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Methane hydrate is a form of water ice that contains a large amount of methane within its crystal structure, called a clathrate hydrate.
Think Progress » Noonan: If Global Warming Is Real, Blame The Scientists 2006
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That's called a clathrate --- Latin for a "cage, trellis, or grating" -- and all kinds of things can be held in there.
Mother Of Storms Barnes, John, 1957- 1994
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Another method involves exchanging the methane molecules in the "clathrate" structure with carbon dioxide.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009
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The clathrate gun hyopthesis has received attention lately, although it's been benevolently referred to as a "methane burp" rather than an apocalyptic release of methane that hammered in the nails of past mass extinctions.
Scott Thill: We've Entered the Age of Mass Extinction Scott Thill 2011
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Although not related to Prof Ryskin's "Methane Driven Oceanic Eruption", the clathrate gun hypothesis works on the basis that rises in sea temperatures can trigger the sudden release of methane from methane clathrate compounds buried in seabeds and permafrost.
DK Matai: Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones 2010
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The methane itself is a powerful greenhouse gas and this leads to further temperature rises and methane clathrate destabilisation -- in effect initiating a runaway process as irreversible, once started, as the firing of a gun.
DK Matai: Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones 2010
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The methane itself is a powerful greenhouse gas and this leads to further temperature rises and methane clathrate destabilisation -- in effect initiating a runaway process as irreversible, once started, as the firing of a gun.
DK Matai: Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones 2010
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There is stronger evidence that runaway methane clathrate breakdown may have caused drastic alteration of the ocean environment and the atmosphere of earth on a number of occasions in the past.
DK Matai: Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones 2010
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Although not related to Prof Ryskin's "Methane Driven Oceanic Eruption", the clathrate gun hypothesis works on the basis that rises in sea temperatures can trigger the sudden release of methane from methane clathrate compounds buried in seabeds and permafrost.
DK Matai: Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones 2010
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There is stronger evidence that runaway methane clathrate breakdown may have caused drastic alteration of the ocean environment and the atmosphere of earth on a number of occasions in the past.
DK Matai: Gulf Oil Gusher: Methane, Climate & Dead Zones 2010
sratsrat commented on the word clathrate
citation, .....they were aware of clathrates, naturally occurring cagelike clusters of atoms that trap other atoms within them.5-Aug-08,NYTimes Science,p. D4,A Problem of Bubbles Frames an Olympic Design.
August 7, 2008
hernesheir commented on the word clathrate
"Claim has been received; will have prompt attention", in railroad telegraphers' abbreviated shorthand. --US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906.
January 21, 2013