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beam splitter

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Definition of beam splitter

: a mirror or prism or a combination of the two that is used to divide a beam of radiation into two or more parts

Examples of beam splitter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Under these circumstances, if two photons arrive at a beam splitter at the same time via different ports, then their paths will become linked (entangled). — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Quantum device performs 2.6 billion years of computation in 4 minutes," 7 Dec. 2020 Particles can be placed in superposition in certain experiments, such as those using a beam splitter to divide photons of light, to show the phenomenon in action. — Jonathan O'callaghan, Scientific American, "Quantum Time Twist Offers a Way to Create Schrödinger’s Clock," 23 Oct. 2020 Chris uses a cube beam splitter to create the laser light show announcing the Tanning Invitational pool party that incurs Hathaway's wrath. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Real Genius turns 35—celebrating this cult classic is a moral imperative," 9 Aug. 2020 After going through the beam splitter, the particle enters into a superposition of two states: taking the left and right paths. — Anil Ananthaswamy, Scientific American, "Spin-Swapping Particles Could Be “Quantum Cheshire Cats”," 6 May 2019 The pulses go through a beam splitter, which sends half of each pulse toward Alice and half toward Bob. — Kevin Hartnett, WIRED, "It's Not a Myth: Quantum Messages Really Can Travel Faster," 23 Dec. 2018 The two waves come back together at the second beam splitter. — Quanta Magazine, "Closed Loophole Confirms the Unreality of the Quantum World," 25 July 2018 The thought experiment involves putting two interferometers side by side, such that each particle first encounters a beam splitter. — Anil Ananthaswamy, Scientific American, "Spin-Swapping Particles Could Be “Quantum Cheshire Cats”," 6 May 2019 Then the two outputs from each interferometer encounter a series of beam splitters and detectors. — Anil Ananthaswamy, Scientific American, "Spin-Swapping Particles Could Be “Quantum Cheshire Cats”," 6 May 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beam splitter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of beam splitter

1935, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for beam splitter

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The first known use of beam splitter was in 1935

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Last Updated

21 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Beam splitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beam%20splitter. Accessed 21 Jan. 2021.

More from Merriam-Webster on beam splitter

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about beam splitter

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