maser

[mey-zer]

noun

1. a device for amplifying electromagnetic waves by stimulated emission of radiation.

maser

/ ˈmeɪzə /

noun

1. a device for amplifying microwaves, working on the same principle as a laser

maser

1. Short for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. A device that generates coherent microwaves using the same principles as a laser. Masers are used in a variety of applications, including in atomic clocks. Natural masers are found in outer space when water or other substances are excited by radiation from a star or by the energy of a collision.

Word History and Origins

Origin of maser¹

1950–55; m(icrowave) a(mplification by) s(timulated) e(mission of ) r(adiation)

Word History and Origins

Origin of maser¹

C20: m ( icrowave ) a ( mplification by ) s ( timulated ) e ( mission of ) r ( adiation )

Example Sentences

By connecting the regions that fired a maser emission the researchers could map out the surface of the disk in G358-MM1.

Read more on Space Scoop

Fortunately, molecules of water and methyl alcohol just outside the regions ionized by these hot stars can be very bright radio sources because they emit natural “maser” emission that is barely attenuated by galactic dust.

Read more on Scientific American

Observations at the different sites were coordinated using atomic clocks, called hydrogen masers, accurate to within one second every 100 million years.

Read more on The Guardian

In the late 1950s, Gould explored using light to optically ‘pump’ a maser — a device emitting microwaves at a specific frequency, invented by physicist Charles Townes in 1953.

Read more on Nature

Invented in the 1950s, masers use microwaves instead of light, but they were somewhat eclipsed by the much more practical laser.

Read more on Nature