maser
Americannoun
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a device for amplifying electromagnetic waves by stimulated emission of radiation.
noun
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a device for amplifying microwaves, working on the same principle as a laser
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Short for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. A device that generates coherent microwaves using the same principles as a laser. Masers are used in a variety of applications, including in atomic clocks. Natural masers are found in outer space when water or other substances are excited by radiation from a star or by the energy of a collision.
Etymology
Origin of maser
1950–55; m(icrowave) a(mplification by) s(timulated) e(mission of ) r(adiation)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This releases a burst of energy that heats up the disk as it moves outwards - and produces maser emissions on the way.
From Space Scoop • Mar. 29, 2023
In the late 1950s, Gould explored using light to optically ‘pump’ a maser — a device emitting microwaves at a specific frequency, invented by physicist Charles Townes in 1953.
From Nature • Jan. 8, 2019
Instruments on the ground were used to compare the frequency of the signal emitted by the rocket-borne maser with that from a similar maser on Earth.
From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016
Charles Townes, the Nobel Prize–winning physicist credited with the invention of the laser and its predecessor — the maser — died in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday.
From Time • Jan. 29, 2015
Scientific and technical instruments—oscilloscopes, X-ray generators, radar equipment, maser sets, dynostatic crystals, thermolight resonators, and so on—were stolen complete or gutted for various parts.
From Anything You Can Do! by Garrett, Randall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.