displacement law

noun

: any of three statements in physics or chemistry: (1) wien's displacement law or (2) the emission of an alpha particle by an atom reduces the atomic number by two while the emission of a beta particle increases it by one or (3) ionization of an element causes both its spectrum and its chemical properties to resemble those of the element whose atomic number is less by one, two, or more according as the ionization is single, double, or higher

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