subatomic

[suhb-uh-tom-ik] /ˌsʌb əˈtɒm ɪk/

adjective, Physics.

of or pertaining to a process that occurs within an atom.

noting or pertaining to a particle or particles contained in an atom, as electrons, protons, or neutrons.

Origin

1900-05; sub- + atomic

Examples from the web for subatomic

They are composed largely of gas and plasma, a superheated state of matter composed of subatomic particles.
For example, it shows that the decay of subatomic particles is necessarily probabilistic.
Matter is programmed at the subatomic level to respond in predetermined ways.
Latest data show the subatomic particles continue to break the speed limit.
Long before the galaxies even formed, the universe was filled with a plasma of atomic nuclei and subatomic particles.
The macro element was the resonator, but the quantum effect was the vibration, which was at the subatomic level.
The typical behaviors of subatomic particles are not going to be observed in the macroscopic world.
The last two are the ones that work at the subatomic level.
It is the dimension of time, the quantum probability ocean, and subatomic particles spontaneously appear and disappear into it.
Quantum mechanics describes phenomena at the subatomic level.

British Dictionary definitions for subatomic

/ˌsʌbəˈtɒmɪk/

adjective

of, relating to, or being a particle making up an atom or a process occurring within atoms: the electron is a subatomic particle

having dimensions smaller than atomic dimensions

Word Origin and History for subatomic

adj.

1903, from sub-atom (1880), from sub- + atomic.

subatomic in Medicine

subatomic sub·a·tom·ic (sŭb'ə-tŏm'ĭk)
adj.

Of or relating to the constituents of the atom.
Having dimensions or participating in reactions characteristic of the constituents of the atom.

subatomic in Culture

A descriptive term for objects and events within the atom.