The quality or state of being critical or extremely important; in nuclear physics, the condition where a nuclear reaction sustains itself.
From critical (from Latin criticus, from Greek kritikos meaning 'able to judge') plus -ity suffix denoting a state or quality. The nuclear physics sense emerged in the 1940s during atomic research.
The word bridges everyday language and science: when a doctor says your condition has reached 'criticality,' they mean the same thing a nuclear engineer does—a tipping point where things either stabilize or cascade out of control.
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