What is "free radical"

n. (context chemistry physics English) A molecule, ion or atom that has one or more unpaired electrons, and which is generally highly reactive (and therefore often occurs only as a transient species).

n. an atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron; in the body it is usually an oxygen molecule than has lost an electron and will stabilize itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule; "in the body free radicals are high-energy particles that ricochet wildly and damage cells" [syn: radical]

Free radical is a chemistry term that describes an atomic or molecular species with unpaired electrons on an otherwise open shell configuration.

Free radical may also refer to:

Chemistry

• Free radical addition, an addition reaction in organic chemistry involving free radicals
• Free Radical Centre, a research center located in Australia that works in all areas of free radical chemistry
• Free radical halogenation, a type of halogenation in organic chemistry
• Free-radical theory, a chemistry theory that attributes organisms aging because cells accumulate free radical damage with the passage of time

Publications

• Free Radical, a 1988 biography of Albert Szent-Györgyi by Ralph W. Moss
• Free Radical (magazine), a New Zealand-based magazine
• Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science (Profile, 2011) by Michael Brooks

Films

• Free Radicals (film), an animated short film by avant-garde filmmaker Len Lye
• Böse Zellen, (Free Radicals), an Austrian film by Barbara Albert

Companies

• Crytek UK, formerly Free Radical Design, a video game developer based in Nottingham, England

Music

• Free Radicals (band), a jazz, funk, and international music group based in Houston, Texas
• "Free Radicals" (song), a song by the rock band The Flaming Lips on the album At War with the Mystics