spectrum line
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈspɛktrəm laɪn/
- Specialized
:
línea espectral
- James Brault, a student of Dicke, measured the reddening of sodium spectrum lines in the gravitational field of the Sun, and in 1962 found agreement with the General Theory to within 5%.
Examples
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Individual oscillation modes have amplitudes of no more than about 0.1 m/s, so the observational task is to measure shifts of a spectrum line to an accuracy of parts per million of its width.
Academic text (1995) -
They were first seen as Doppler shifts of spectrum lines, and this is still the principal way they are observed.
Academic text (1995) -
However, few spectrum lines may be used with atomic resonance line filters, and it is difficult to obtain a linear response to Doppler shift.
Academic text (1995) -
The relative intensity of the light from the two wings is a measure of the Doppler shift of the solar spectrum line with respect to the laboratory.
Academic text (1995) -
This principle is also used to build magneto-optical filters with which images of the Sun in the two wings of the spectrum line can be produced, recorded, and analyzed.
Academic text (1995) -
A popular current technique combines a narrow-band interference filter with birefringent polarizing filter elements to isolate a single solar spectrum line within a fixed transmission band that is a few line widths wide.
Academic text (1995) -
The scientists observed the bright spectrum line emitted by the hydrogen atom.
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Astronomers use spectrum lines to determine the composition of distant galaxies.
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Using a spectrometer, researchers can analyze each spectrum line to identify specific chemical elements.
Synonyms
179
7.2
A single musical tune or clear sound frequency
How Discrete
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: a 'line' (a narrow band or feature) within a 'spectrum' (a band of wavelengths), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a narrow band in the spectrum produced by a specific frequency. This construction is transparent and has clear cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. 'línea espectral', 'ligne spectrale', '谱线'), making it predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun spectrum line comes from the image of a thin line in a spectrum, like a narrow bright or dark streak in a spread of colors. Each thin line is produced by light of one specific color, so scientists use a spectrum line to tell which atoms or molecules are present.