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Fermentation   /fˌərməntˈeɪʃən/   Listen
noun
Fermentation  n.  
1.
The process of undergoing an effervescent change, as by the action of yeast; in a wider sense (Physiol. Chem.), The transformation of an organic substance into new compounds by the action of a ferment 1, whether in the form of living organisms or enzymes. It differs in kind according to the nature of the ferment which causes it. Note: In industrial microbiology fermentation usually refers to the production of chemical substances by use of microorganisms.
2.
A state of agitation or excitement, as of the intellect or the feelings. "It puts the soul to fermentation and activity." "A univesal fermentation of human thought and faith."
Acetous fermentation or Acetic fermentation, a form of oxidation in which alcohol is converted into vinegar or acetic acid by the agency of a specific fungus (Mycoderma aceti) or series of enzymes. The process involves two distinct reactions, in which the oxygen of the air is essential. An intermediate product, acetaldehyde, is formed in the first process. 1. C2H6O + O = H2O + C2H4O Note: Alcohol. Water. Acetaldehyde. 2. C2H4O + O = C2H4O2 Note: Acetaldehyde. Acetic acid.
Alcoholic fermentation, the fermentation which saccharine bodies undergo when brought in contact with the yeast plant or Torula. The sugar is converted, either directly or indirectly, into alcohol and carbonic acid, the rate of action being dependent on the rapidity with which the Torulae develop.
Ammoniacal fermentation, the conversion of the urea of the urine into ammonium carbonate, through the growth of the special urea ferment. CON2H4 + 2H2O = (NH4)2CO3 Note: Urea. Water. Ammonium carbonate. Note: Whenever urine is exposed to the air in open vessels for several days it undergoes this alkaline fermentation.
Butyric fermentation, the decomposition of various forms of organic matter, through the agency of a peculiar worm-shaped vibrio, with formation of more or less butyric acid. It is one of the many forms of fermentation that collectively constitute putrefaction. See Lactic fermentation.
enzymatic fermentation or Fermentation by an unorganized ferment. Fermentations of this class are purely chemical reactions, in which the enzyme acts as a simple catalytic agent. Of this nature are the decomposition or inversion of cane sugar into levulose and dextrose by boiling with dilute acids, the conversion of starch into dextrin and sugar by similar treatment, the conversion of starch into like products by the action of diastase of malt or ptyalin of saliva, the conversion of albuminous food into peptones and other like products by the action of pepsin-hydrochloric acid of the gastric juice or by the ferment of the pancreatic juice.
Fermentation theory of disease (Biol. & Med.), the theory that most if not all, infectious or zymotic disease are caused by the introduction into the organism of the living germs of ferments, or ferments already developed (organized ferments), by which processes of fermentation are set up injurious to health. See Germ theory.
Glycerin fermentation, the fermentation which occurs on mixing a dilute solution of glycerin with a peculiar species of schizomycetes and some carbonate of lime, and other matter favorable to the growth of the plant, the glycerin being changed into butyric acid, caproic acid, butyl, and ethyl alcohol. With another form of bacterium (Bacillus subtilis) ethyl alcohol and butyric acid are mainly formed.
Lactic fermentation, the transformation of milk sugar or other saccharine body into lactic acid, as in the souring of milk, through the agency of a special bacterium (Bacterium lactis of Lister). In this change the milk sugar, before assuming the form of lactic acid, presumably passes through the stage of glucose. C12H22O11.H2O > 4C3H6O3 Note: Hydrated milk sugar. Lactic acid. Note: In the lactic fermentation of dextrose or glucose, the lactic acid which is formed is very prone to undergo butyric fermentation after the manner indicated in the following equation: 2C3H6O3 (lactic acid) > C4H8O2 (butyric acid) + 2CO2 (carbonic acid) + 2H2 (hydrogen gas).
Putrefactive fermentation. See Putrefaction.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Fermentation" Quotes from Famous Books



... ill opinion gain, No merit can their favour re-obtain: And if they're not vindictive in their fury, 'Tis their inconstant temper does secure ye: Their brain's so cool, their passion seldom burns; For all's condensed before the flame returns: The fermentation's of so weak a matter, The humid damps the flame, and runs it all to water; So though the inclination may be strong, They're pleased by ...
— The True-Born Englishman - A Satire • Daniel Defoe
... captain of the guards, was. As soon as he entered, he had seated himself on the ledge of a window, whence, with his eagle glance, he saw all that was going on, without the least emotion. None of the progress of the fermentation which had manifested itself at the report of his arrest had escaped him. He foresaw the moment when the explosion would take place, and we know that ...
— The Vicomte de Bragelonne - Or Ten Years Later being the completion of "The Three - Musketeers" And "Twenty Years After" • Alexandre Dumas
... scandal scarcely raised its head among the sincere members of the youthful army, other ills as far-reaching and even more dangerous began soon to sow seeds of evil and of suffering among them. For out of the fermentation arising among these isolated bands, came the bitterest drink that Russia has had to swallow. Poverty, alienation, the common cause against a common enemy—how should it not breed socialism? That established, where find a lack of bolder spirits ...
— The Genius • Margaret Horton Potter
... studs with seven-inch spikes, and then caulked, to prevent their leaking. Vats thus made will last in Carolina, notwithstanding the excessive heat, at least seven years. When every thing is ready, the weed must be cut and laid regularly in the steeper with the stalk upward, which will hasten the fermentation; then long rails must be laid the length of the vat, at eighteen inches distance from one another, and wedged down to the weed, to prevent its buoying up when the water is pumped into the steeper. For this purpose the softest water answers best, and the quantity of it necessary must be just ...
— An Historical Account Of The Rise And Progress Of The Colonies Of South Carolina And Georgia, Volume 2 • Alexander Hewatt
... so genuinely emptied, not so much by the cricket as by the two years of fermentation, that not one of us stirred toward breakfast, in fact not one of us moved from the listless attitude in which day found him, until after nine o'clock. Then we pulled ourselves together and cooked coffee and salt horse. As a significant fact, ...
— The Mystery • Stewart Edward White and Samuel Hopkins Adams


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