Brillouin zone

noun

A uniquely defined primitive cell forming part of the reciprocal lattice, involved in calculations regarding waves in a periodic medium given by Bloch's theorem.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounBrillouin zone (plural Brillouin zones)

plural Brillouin zones

  1. mathematicsA uniquely defined primitive cell forming part of the reciprocal lattice, involved in calculations regarding waves in a periodic medium given by Bloch's theorem.

Origin

The concept was developed by Léon Brillouin (1889–1969), French physicist.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Brillouin zone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brillouin%20zone

MLA

“Brillouin zone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brillouin%20zone. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Brillouin zone,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brillouin%20zone.

Source: Brillouin zone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.