absorption band

noun

: a dark band in an absorption spectrum

also : absorption line

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

In work that is now being prepared for publication, Meadows and her team show that a spectral absorption band from tetraoxygen (O4) loosely forms when O2 molecules collide. —Quanta Magazine, 2 Feb. 2016

Diatomic oxygen also boasts strong absorption bands in the visible and near-infrared — the exact sensitivity range of both the $8 billion James Webb telescope and the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), a mission planned for the 2020s. —Quanta Magazine, 2 Feb. 2016

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above