spectrometer

noun spec·trom·e·ter \ spek-ˈträ-mə-tər \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of spectrometer

1 : an instrument used for measuring wavelengths of light spectra

2 : any of various analytical instruments in which an emission (as of particles or radiation) is dispersed according to some property (such as mass or energy) of the emission and the amount of dispersion is measured

nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer

—

spectrometric

play \ˌspek-trə-ˈme-trik\ adjective

—

spectrometry

play \spek-ˈträ-mə-trē\ noun

See spectrometer defined for kids

Recent Examples of spectrometer from the Web

The Yale Exoplanet Lab built EXPRES, a spectrometer hooked up to a telescope at Lowell Observatory, to find 100 Earths.

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "The Case of the Evaporating Exoplanets," 12 Apr. 2018
This tool uses spectrometers, a UV laser, and a camera to look for chemicals that are indicative of past watery environments or aquatic organisms.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "NASA's Next Great Mars Rover Will Search for Martians and Prepare for Humans to Follow," 17 Jan. 2018
Taylor was instrumental in building the beam switchyard, which allowed multiple experiments to run at the same time, as well as its giant spectrometer.

— amina khan, latimes.com, "Richard Taylor, Stanford physicist who won Nobel Prize for discovering quarks, dies at 88," 29 Mar. 2018
Johnson has worked with other scientists who have shown how a mass spectrometer, a tool common on NASA robotic missions right now, could be twinned with algorithms designed to evaluate a molecule’s complexity, not just its weight.

— paul voosen, Science | AAAS, "Want to discover truly alien life? Pack a genome sequencer," 23 Mar. 2018
The water is drawn into the mass spectrometer, which then analyzes the molecular composition.

— Fox News, "SXSW: Scientists tout 'pen' technology that detects cancer in 20 seconds," 12 Mar. 2018
The University of Wisconsin-Madion was in a position to help with a tool known as a secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS).

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Oldest Fossils On Earth Nearly 3.5 Billion Years Old," 19 Dec. 2017
Working with the Canadian Space Agency, GHGSat spent three years designing a satellite whose lightweight imaging spectrometer can focus on an area as small as 164 square feet.

— john fialka, Scientific American, "Meet the Satellites that Can Pinpoint Methane and Carbon Dioxide Leaks," 9 Mar. 2018
Sophisticated spectrometers will measure the light collected by GMT to identify the compositions of celestial objects.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "The Deep Space Eye in the Desert," 14 Feb. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of spectrometer

International Scientific Vocabulary

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1874

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Medical Dictionary

spectrometer

noun spec·trom·e·ter \ spek-ˈträm-ət-ər \

medical Definition of spectrometer

1 : an instrument used for measuring wavelengths of light spectra

2 : any of various analytical instruments in which an emission (as of particles or radiation) is dispersed according to some property (as mass or energy) of the emission and the amount of dispersion is measured

nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer

—

spectrometric

play \ˌspek-trə-ˈme-trik\ adjective

—

spectrometry

play \spek-ˈträm-ə-trē\ noun, plural spectrometries

Learn More about spectrometer

See words that rhyme with spectrometer Nglish: Translation of spectrometer for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about spectrometer

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spectrometer

Definition of spectrometer

spectrometric

spectrometry

Recent Examples of spectrometer from the Web

Origin and Etymology of spectrometer

Medical Dictionary

spectrometer

medical Definition of spectrometer

spectrometric

spectrometry

Learn More about spectrometer

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spectrometer

Definition of spectrometer

spectrometric

spectrometry

Recent Examples of spectrometer from the Web

Origin and Etymology of spectrometer

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spectrometer

medical Definition of spectrometer

spectrometric

spectrometry

Learn More about spectrometer

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