CATALYSIS • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Catalysis

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noun

Catalysis n. (pl. catalyse)

Dissolution; degeneration; decay. (R.) "Sad catalysis and declension of piety."

(Chem.)

(a)

A process by which a chemical reaction is accelerated in the presence of certain agents which were formerly believed to exert an influence by mere contact. It is now believed that such reactions are attended with the formation of an intermediate compound or compounds, so that by alternate composition and decomposition the agent is apparenty left unchanged; as, the catalysis of making ether from alcohol by means of sulphuric acid; or catalysis in the action of enzymes (as diastase, or ptyalin) on starch.

(b)

The catalytic force.

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Etymology of 'Catalysis'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Catalysis" Quotes from Famous Books

... for in order that a cause A. may produce an effect in B. outside of it, cause A. must detach or separate from itself the influence or energy which modifies B." What does the earth detach from itself when it causes a heavy body to fall? In chemical catalysis what does the second body "detach from itself" to produce change in the first, which is changed by its mere presence. The assertion is but partially true, applying only to the transfer of force when one body strikes another. Aristotle has ...

— Buchanan's Journal of Man, September 1887 - Volume 1, Number 8 • Various