Definition of "phonon" []

• The quantum of acoustic or vibrational energy, considered a discrete particle and used especially in mathematical models to calculate thermal and vibrational properties of solids. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In crystals this source is a phonon, which is a bundle of energy resulting from vibrations in the crystal's lattice and which has a large momentum."
• "The phonon is a particle used in quantum mechanics to describe the propagation of sound in a crystal matrix."
• "The connection between energy and wavelength in, for example, crystal oscillations, termed the phonon dispersion relation, is a complicated function."