bolometer

American  

[boh-lom-i-ter, buh-] / boʊˈlɒm ɪ tər, bə- /

noun

Physics.

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.

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bolometer British  

/ bəʊˈlɒmɪtə, ˌbəʊləˈmɛtrɪk /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• bolometric adjective
• bolometrically adverb
• bolometry noun

Etymology

Origin of bolometer

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

Example Sentences

For example, we can swap the bolometer material from metal to graphene, which has a lower heat capacity and can detect very small changes in its energy quickly.

From Science Daily

Radiation-detectors known as bolometers are vital instruments in many fields of science.

From Nature

Normally, the South Pole Telescope’s 10-meter dish funnels extremely faint radiation from the cosmic microwave background into a camera called a bolometer.

From Salon

Herschel used special light detectors in its instruments known as bolometers.

From BBC

They employed an aperture in the side of an enclosure at uniform temperature as the source of radiation, and compared the intensities at different temperatures by means of a bolometer.

From Project Gutenberg