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line spectrum

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noun Physics.
  1. an electromagnetic spectrum consisting of discrete lines, usually characteristic of excited atoms or molecules.
Compare band spectrum, continuous spectrum, spectral line.

Origin of line spectrum

First recorded in 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for line spectrum

Historical Examples

  • The defect is also demonstrated by viewing a line-spectrum focused on a ground glass.

    Visual Illusions

    Matthew Luckiesh

line spectrum in Science

line spectrum

  1. An image of colored lines or bands of light formed in optical spectroscopy, each line representing one of the frequencies in the spectrum of a light source. The light source is usually broken into individual bands by a prism or a diffraction grating.
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