from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Implosion \Im*plo"sion\, n. [Formed by substitution of pref. im-
in for pref. ex- in explosion.]
1. A bursting inwards, as of a vessel from which the air has
been exhausted; -- contrasted with {explosion}.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence: The inward-moving detonation wave cause by
detonation of explosives arrayed spherically around a
core; -- a technique used in atomic bombs to compress
fissionable material to allow a chain reaction time to
produce an explosion of the fissionable material.
[PJC]
3. (Phon.) A sudden compression of the air in the mouth,
simultaneously with and affecting the sound made by the
closure of the organs in uttering p, t, or k, at the end
of a syllable (see Guide to Pronunciation,
[sect][sect]159, 189); also, a similar compression made by
an upward thrust of the larynx without any accompanying
explosive action, as in the peculiar sound of b, d, and g,
heard in Southern Germany. --H. Sweet.
[1913 Webster]