chain reaction
- a self-sustaining series of chemical or nuclear reactions in which the products of the reaction contribute directly to the process: it can be started by light, an electric spark, bombardment with neutrons, etc.
- any sequence of events, each of which results in, or has an effect on, the following
See chain reaction in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun- A series of events in which each induces or influences the next.
- Physics A multistage nuclear reaction, especially a self-sustaining series of fissions in which the release of neutrons from the splitting of one atom leads to the splitting of others.
- Chemistry A series of reactions in which one product of a reacting set is a reactant in the following set.
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