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Glite Dictionary
scatterer

scatterer

7.7
Something that makes light, sound, or particles spread out
  • noun
  • /ˈskætərər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : dispersor
  • In optics, a scatterer helps in the distribution of light waves in various directions.
  • anomalous scatterer
  • presence of a scatterer

They won't come to thermal equilibrium because they're not efficient scatterers, but the radiation will have exactly the same form.

Examples

  • One way to resolve the ambiguity is to choose the phase closer to that of the anomalous scatterer.

    Academic text (2006)

  • In the presence of such scatterers, there are a multitude of paths from the transmitter to the receiver.

    Academic text (2001)

  • And this is the relationship, the phase generated by a scatterer at the point X.

  • In the presence of the scatterer, a second linear combination is also received.

    Academic text (2001)

  • The presence of scatterers in the environment effectively increases the aperture of the lens that looks at the transmitting array.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Human heads include a variety of secondary scatterers that can be expected to lead to structure in the higher-frequency dependence of the ILD.

    Academic text (1999)

  • If N independent images of the same scatterers are averaged, the SNR increases by a factor of the square root of N (8).

    Academic text (1997)

  • The most commonly used anomalous scatterer is selenium, which can be substituted for sulfur in methionine, one of 20 amino acid residues that make up proteins.

    Academic text (2006)

  • A scatterer, like a raindrop, can cause light to spread out and create a rainbow.

  • Dust particles act as scatterers, making the sunlight appear softer in the atmosphere.

Synonyms

broadcaster
vsscatterer
1 6.5

A tool that spreads seed or fertilizer evenly over a wide area

focuses on waves and signals rather than spreading solid materials
disperser
vsscatterer
6.4

An animal or machine that spreads seeds and pollen across a wide area

causes waves or particles to move outward in many directions
diffusor
vsscatterer
  • UK
7.5

A device that spreads sound or light evenly in a room

puts emphasis on directional spreading rather than uniform filling of space

Surface Forms

scatterer singular
scatterers plural

Morphology

scatterer = scatter (transparent) = scatter + er

Standard agent-noun formation from the verb 'scatter' with clear meaning 'one who scatters'.

Etymology

Scatterer is made from scatter and -er, where scatter means 'to throw or spread things in different directions' and -er means 'one who does something', just like in teacher. So a scatterer is an object or agent that makes waves, particles, or signals like light or sound 'spread out' in many directions.