vitrification

Meanings

1. Turning to glass or glasslike material: the action or process of vitrifying a material: conversion into an amorphous solid free of any crystalline structure by addition or removal of heat or by mixture with an additive.
2. An instance of such conversion.
3. The result of such conversion: a vitrified substance or object.

Etymology

From Late Latin *vitrificātio (“glassification”), from *vitrificāre (“to glassify”), from vitrum (“glass”) + -ificāre (“-ify”). Cf. French vitrification, Spanish vitrificación, Italian vitrificazione.