bolometer

[ boh-lom-i-ter, buh- ]

nounPhysics.
  1. a device for measuring minute amounts of radiant energy by determining the changes of resistance in an electric conductor caused by changes in its temperature.

Origin of bolometer

1
1880–85; <Greek bol() ray + -o- + -meter

Other words from bolometer

  • bo·lo·met·ric [boh-luh-me-trik], /ˌboʊ ləˈmɛ trɪk/, adjective
  • bo·lo·met·ri·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby bolometer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bolometer in a sentence

  • They may be investigated with the bolometer, an instrument invented by the late Professor Langley.

    Astronomy of To-day | Cecil G. Dolmage
  • A more careful study has been made by Langley and Very with the bolometer.

    The Nature of Animal Light | E. Newton Harvey
  • We have a heat-measuring instrument, the bolometer, which makes the best thermometer seem Early Victorian.

  • Later, Langley reinvestigated the radiation of Pyrophorus and could detect no heating whatever with the bolometer.

    The Nature of Animal Light | E. Newton Harvey

British Dictionary definitions for bolometer

bolometer

/ (bəʊˈlɒmɪtə) /


noun
  1. a sensitive instrument for measuring radiant energy by the increase in the resistance of an electrical conductor

Origin of bolometer

1
C19: from bol-, from Greek bolē ray of light, stroke, from ballein to throw + -meter

Derived forms of bolometer

  • bolometric (ˌbəʊləˈmɛtrɪk), adjective
  • bolometrically, adverb
  • bolometry, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012