Term: photostationary state https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04654 Definition: A steady state reached by a reacting chemical system when light has been absorbed by at least one of the components. At this state the rates of formation and disappearance are equal for each of the transient molecular entities formed. Source: PAC, 1996, 68, 2223. 'Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 2265 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668122223) Citation: 'photostationary state' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04654 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.