EXPLOSION

(Lat. explosio.) In Natural Philosophy, a sudden and violent expansion of the parts of any object. Explosion differs from expansion in this, that whereas the former is always sudden, and only of momentary duration, the latter is the effect of some gradual and continued power, acting uniformly for some considerable time. See Expansion; Matter, Properties of. EXPONENT, in Algebra, is used in various senses; thus we say the exponent of a power, the exponent of a rank, the exponent of a ratio. The exponent of a power is a number or algebraic character expre ing the degree or elevation of the power to which the quantity is raised. For example, in the expre ion a'*, 4 is the exponent, denoting that a is raised to the fourth power. In the expre ion am the exponent m is indeterminate, as it may represent any number whatever. The exponent may also be fractional, in which case it denotes not the power, but the root of the quantity; thus a^ denotes the [s. 444]