| multipole radiation [`mǝl·tǝ´pōl ´rād·ē`ā·shǝn] PHYSICS 1. Electromagnetic radiation which has characteristics equivalent to those of radiation generated by an oscillating electric or magnetic multipole, and is made up of photons of well-defined angular momentum and parity. 2. Internal conversion electrons, or positron-electron pairs having similar characteristics, emitted from an atom when the nucleus makes a transition between two energy states. |