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Transient vs Unstable - What's the difference?

transient | unstable | Related terms |

Transient is a related term of unstable.


In physics|lang=en terms the difference between transient and unstable

is that transient is (physics) a transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge while unstable is (physics) radioactive, especially with a short half-life.

As adjectives the difference between transient and unstable

is that transient is passing or disappearing with time; transitory while unstable is having a strong tendency to change.

As a noun transient

is something which is transient.

transient

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Passing or disappearing with time; transitory.
  • a transient pleasure
  • * Milton
  • this transient world
  • Remaining for only a brief time.
  • a transient view of a landscape
  • (physics) Decaying with time, especially exponentially.
  • (mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) having a positive probability of being left and never being visited again.
  • Occasional; isolated; one-off; individual.
  • Passing through; passing from one person to another.
  • (philosophy) Operating beyond itself; having an external effect.
  • Synonyms

    * (passing) passing, transitory, temporary * (brief) brief, ephemeral, fleeting, flighty, fugacious

    Antonyms

    * (passing) permanent * (brief) permanent * (mathematics) recurrent * (philosophy) immanent

    Derived terms

    * transience * transiently * transientness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something which is transient.
  • (physics) A transient phenomenon, especially an electric current; a very brief surge.
  • (acoustics) A relatively loud, non-repeating signal in an audio waveform which occurs very quickly, such as the attack of a snare drum.
  • A person who passes through a place for a short time; a traveller; a migrant worker
  • * 1996 , , Oyster , Virago Press, paperback edition, page 3
  • Then, within the space of a few months, there were more transients than there were locals, and the imbalance seemed morally wrong.
  • An unhoused person
  • Synonyms

    * (4) traveller: itinerant, migrant, traveller * (5) homeless: homeless

    Anagrams

    * *

    unstable

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having a strong tendency to change.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Yesterday’s fuel , passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.
  • Fluctuating; not constant.
  • Fickle.
  • Unpredictable.
  • (chemistry) Readily decomposable.
  • (physics) Radioactive, especially with a short half-life.
  • Synonyms

    * instable (rare) * (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) precarious, rickety, shaky, tottering, unsafe, unsteady, wobbly

    Antonyms

    * stable

    Anagrams

    *