Infinitive form?

[Mark Odegard]

>"to transition" (vti)
>(from Encarta World English Dictionary, 1999)
>
>>From my perspective, change can be either abrupt or gradual, whereas
>transition connotes a gradual change, a process of change, or a phasing-in
>period.
>            PAT

It would be nice if the lexicographers gave us 'phase transition' in the
collegiate dictionary definitions. As I remember, this term describes the
point where molecules transition from one state to another, as with water to
ice, where the crystals start forming, linking to each other. If the camera
is fast enough, the change in state can be observed. Or have I gotten it
wrong?

My point here is I think 'to transition' should refer to the abrupt
changeover from state A to state B. When I got fired, I transitioned from
employed to unemployed. Outside this technical definition, the definition
given by "PAT" would seem to be the one in current use.

Mark.

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