diatom

A view of diatoms through the microscope.

From (deprecated) genus name Diatoma, from Ancient Greek διάτομος (diátomos, “cut through, cut in half”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdaɪ.ə.təm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdaɪ.əˌtɔm/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

diatom (plural diatoms)

1. Any of a group of minute unicellular algae having a siliceous covering of great delicacy, now categorized as class Diatomophyceae or division Bacillariophyta.
   • 1967, George K. Reid, edited by Herbert S. Zim and George S. Fichter, Pond Life, New York: Golden Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 31:

     Diatoms are enclosed in two shells that fit together like a pillbox.

   • 2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Granta Books, published 2013, page 287:

     Diatoms are characterized by a cell wall called a fistula made of silica, which usually has two overlapping sections.

• diatomaceous
• diatomite

di- +‎ atom

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /daɪˈæ.təm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /daɪˈæ.ɾəm/

diatom (plural diatoms)

1. (chemistry) A molecule composed of two atoms of the same element; a homonuclear diatomic molecule.
   • 2007, Björn O. Roos, Antonio C. Borin, Laura Gagliardi, “Reaching the Maximum Multiplicity of the Covalent Chemical Bond”, in Angewandte Chemie‎, volume 46, number 9, →DOI, archived from the original on 27 April 2024, pages 1469–1472:

     We show here, through a systematic study of the covalent chemical bond covering the entire periodic system, that the maximum bond multiplicity is six. The maximum value is reached by the tungsten diatom, W₂. No other pair of atoms in the periodic system (atomic numbers smaller than about 100) reaches a higher bond order.

• Tomida