Emerging character of this interdisciplinary branch of science is reflected by a lack of established terminology. There are different terms and definitions used by different authors depending on the main approach used (chemical, physical, mechanical, vacuum science, etc.), specific gas emission mechanism (desorption, emanation, emission, etc.) and type of mechanical activation (friction, traction, etc.):<br />
:Mechanically stimulated outgassing (MSO) 
:Tribodesorption
:Triboemission,
:Fractoemission
:Atomic and Molecular emission
:Outgassing stimulated by friction
:Outgassing stimulated by deformation
Desorption (tribodesorption, fractodesorption, etc.) refers to release of gases dissolved in the bulk and adsorbed on the surface. Therefore, desorption is only one of the contributing processes to MSGE. Outgassing is a technical term usually utilized in vacuum science. Thus, the term "gas emission" embraces various processes, reflects the physical nature of this complex phenomenon and is preferable for use in scientific publications.