quenching

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The extinction of any of several physical properties.
2. (countable, uncountable)The rapid cooling of a hot metal object, by placing it in a liquid, in order to harden it.
3. (countable, uncountable)A process in which a galaxy loses cold gas, thus strongly suppressing star formation.
4. (countable, uncountable)The dissipation of energy from light in excess of what can be used for photosynthesis.

   “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.”

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of quench