quenching

1. (physics) The extinction of any of several physical properties.countableuncountable

2. (metallurgy) The rapid cooling of a hot metal object, by placing it in a liquid, in order to harden it.countableuncountable

3. (astronomy) A process in which a galaxy loses cold gas, thus strongly suppressing star formation.countableuncountable

4. (botany) The dissipation of energy from light in excess of what can be used for photosynthesis.Examples: "2022 August 27, Michael Le Page, Genetic tweaking increases soy yield by upgrading photosynthesis, New Scientist, Issue 3401, page 16, When a leaf is in full sunshine, it absorbs more light energy than its photosynthetic machinery can handle. This damages cells unless they turn on a mechanism known as quenching to dissipate the excess energy. When a leaf is shaded, however, quenching has to be turned off to avoid dissipating energy that could be used."countableuncountable