trace detector
- noun
- Specialized
:
detector de sustancias
- Public health teams used a portable trace detector to identify low levels of airborne pollutants near the factory.
Examples
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Researchers deployed a water trace detector downstream to monitor chemical contamination after the spill.
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The lab technician calibrated the new trace detector before measuring toxic vapors in the storage room.
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The trace detector identified harmful chemicals in the water.
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Have you used a trace detector before?
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Public health teams used a portable trace detector to identify low levels of airborne pollutants near the factory.
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Researchers deployed a trace detector in the river to monitor for dangerous chemical residues after the accident.
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The lab technician used the trace detector to check for toxic substances on the surfaces of the equipment.
Synonyms
189
3.5
A device that senses things like metal, movement, or radioactivity
5
4.5
A person, animal, or device that finds things by smell, for example dogs
1
9.9
A scientific machine that measures what materials are in a sample and how much of each
An instrument that measures the amount of a substance in a sample by its color
How Sensitive
- Specialized
3
5.5
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
7.7
- Specialized
13
4.2
- Specialized
189
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a device that identifies very small amounts of substances' follows directly from combining 'trace' (a small sign or amount) with 'detector' (an instrument that detects), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE. This noun–noun compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically familiar, making the expression transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Trace detector comes from the idea of finding very small signs of a substance: a trace is a tiny amount and a detector 'finds' it. That's why the name is used for devices that check for tiny amounts of chemicals or pollution in air, water, or on surfaces.