scintillation

1. (countable, uncountable)A flash of light; a spark.

   a rapid change in brightness; a brief spark or flash

2. (countable, uncountable)The twinkling of a star or other celestial body caused by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere.

   the twinkling of the stars caused when changes in the density of the earth's atmosphere produce uneven refraction of starlight

3. (countable, uncountable)The flash of light produced by something (especially a phosphor) when it absorbs ionizing radiation.

   (physics) a flash of light that is produced in a phosphor when it absorbs a photon or ionizing particle

4. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)A brief expression that is amusing or clever; witticism.

1. The physicists had shown that the alpha particles falling on a screen of phosphorescent zinc sulphide produced a number of scintillations.

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