scintillation

American  

[sin-tl-ey-shuhn] / ˌsɪn tlˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of scintillating; sparkling.

2. a spark or flash.

3. Astronomy. the twinkling or tremulous effect of the light of the stars.

4. Meteorology. any small-scale twinkling or shimmering of objects that are viewed through the atmosphere, caused by an interception of the observer's line of view by inhomogeneities in the atmospheric refractive index.

5. Physics.

   1. a flash of light from the ionization of a phosphor struck by an energetic photon or particle.

   2. random fluctuation of the amplitude, phase, or polarization of an electromagnetic wave.

6. (on a radar display) a slight, rapid shifting of a spot of light or the image of an object about its mean position.

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scintillation British  

/ ˌsɪntɪˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of scintillating

2. a spark or flash

3. the twinkling of stars or radio sources, caused by rapid changes in the density of the earth's atmosphere, the interplanetary medium, or the interstellar medium, producing uneven refraction of starlight

4. physics a flash of light produced when a material scintillates

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Etymology

Origin of scintillation

First recorded in 1615–25, scintillation is from the Latin word scintillātiōn- (stem of scintillātiō ). See scintillate, -ion

Example Sentences

Dr. Hewish had been studying rapid variations in radio signals when he built the Interplanetary Scintillation Array, a four-acre network of cables and copper wires that stretched across a field near Cambridge.

From Washington Post • Sep. 17, 2021

Scintillation crystals capture the energies of gamma rays.

From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2018

Scintillation or twinkling of the stars is a property which distinguishes them from the planets.

From The Astronomy of Milton's 'Paradise Lost' by Orchard, Thomas Nathaniel

Scintillation counters at A, B, C, D, and E record the passage of charged particles.

From LRL Accelerators The 184-Inch Synchrocyclotron by Laboratory, Lawrence Radiation

Scintillation there was none, except in the immediate vicinity of the eastern horizon, where I still saw them through a dense atmosphere.

From Across the Zodiac by Greg, Percy