diffractometer

noun

dif·​frac·​tom·​e·​ter di-ˌfrak-ˈtä-mə-tər 

: an instrument for analyzing the structure of a usually crystalline substance from the scattering pattern produced when a beam of radiation or particles (such as X-rays or neutrons) strikes it

diffractometric

di-ˌfrak-tə-ˈme-trik 

adjective

diffractometry

di-ˌfrak-ˈtä-mə-trē 

noun

Examples of diffractometer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That spectrometer, the prototype of today's x-ray diffractometers, is still housed in the Royal Institution, as well as their model of the atomic structure of rock salt. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 26 Dec. 2023

When Elizabeth Sooby, a nuclear materials physicist and assistant professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, finally re-entered her lab after months away, the X-ray diffractometer was leaning ineffectually on its table. — Alia Malik, ExpressNews.com, 8 June 2020

Word History

Etymology

diffract + -o- + -meter

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for diffractometer

• anemometer
• audiometer
• densitometer
• dilatometer
• dynamometer
• electrometer
• extensometer
• goniometer
• magnetometer
• penetrometer
• piezometer
• radiometer