Definition of oscilloscope
: an instrument in which the variations in a fluctuating electrical quantity appear temporarily as a visible wave form on a display screen
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Recent Examples of oscilloscope from the Web
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For decades, research labs and medical facilities have used setups consisting of a Polaroid camera and a mounting rig to collect electrical signals displayed on oscilloscope screens.
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The oscilloscope was fast enough to capture key features of the data – but recording the output for later analysis was a challenge before Land’s instant camera came along.
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In a sense, that was not such a stretch of a prediction, because even in 1968, there had already been oscilloscope-style EKG displays for some time.
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Get our daily newsletter The biggest blips on the oscilloscope include Canada (9.6%), Singapore (11.1%) and Switzerland (16.3%), according to the latest readings, released on March 11th.
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Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg A scientist uses an oscilloscope during tests of sound perception in a soundproof laboratory at the Noveto Systems Ltd. office in Petach Tikva, Israel, on Feb. 14, 2017.
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The oversized reel-to-reel console, complete with wave-form monitors and oscilloscopes, looks like a relic of the Gemini program.
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The oversized reel-to-reel console, complete with wave-form monitors and oscilloscopes, looks like a relic of the Gemini program.
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The oversized reel-to-reel console, complete with wave-form monitors and oscilloscopes, looks like a relic of the Gemini program.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'oscilloscope.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
In Latin oscillare means "to swing", and our word oscillation usually means "vibration" or "variation", especially in a changing flow of electricity. The oscilloscope basically draws a graph of an electrical signal. Since all kinds of physical phenomena can be converted into an electric voltage, oscilloscopes can be used to measure such things as sound, light, and heat. So an oscilloscope can analyze how one clarinet's sound is different from another's, or how one bulb's light differs from another's. Auto mechanics use oscilloscopes to measure engine vibrations; doctors use them to measure brain waves. Audio technicians use oscilloscopes to diagnose problems in audio equipment; TV and radio technicians use them to diagnose TV and radio problems. But oscilloscopes are most essential today to high-tech electronics experimentation.
Origin and Etymology of oscilloscope
International Scientific Vocabulary
Medical Dictionary
medical Definition of oscilloscope
: an instrument in which the variations in a fluctuating electrical quantity appear temporarily as a visible waveform on the fluorescent screen of a cathode-ray tube — called also
cathode-ray oscilloscope
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