Word
spectrometer
Phoneticsspec·trom·e·ter
US/spɛkˈtɹɑmətɝ/
UK/spɛktɹˈɒmɪtɐ/
Definition
n. a machine that measures the different colors of light to find out what chemicals are in a sample. Scientists use it to study things like the air or the stars.
n. an instrument used to measure the spectrum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. It identifies the chemical composition of a substance by analyzing how it interacts with light.
Examples
“The scientist used a spectrometer to test the water sample.”
“Astronomers use a high-resolution spectrometer to determine the chemical makeup of distant stars and planets.”
Examples
simple
“The scientist used a spectrometer to test the water sample.”
contextual
“Astronomers use a high-resolution spectrometer to determine the chemical makeup of distant stars and planets.”
Real-World Examples
Common in science writing
“Scientists then examined those fragments with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, an instrument that identifies ions by measuring how quickly they reach a detector.” “The researchers created them with FRIB's Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap, or LEBIT, a high-precision mass spectrometer.” Etymology
From spectro- + -meter.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/spectrometer