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 • Apr. 10, 2024

Since a bolometer measures power, or photon number, it is not bound to add quantum noise stemming from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in the way that parametric amplifiers are.

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2024

Last fortnight Dr. Donald H. Andrews of Johns Hopkins University described a bolometer to top them all.

From Time Magazine Archive

After connecting the bolometer to the 5-ft. infra-red telescope at the University of Arizona's Catalina observatory near Tucson, Low made careful measurements of R Mon's total energy output over a wide range of wave lengths.

From Time Magazine Archive

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 Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 2 "Hearing" to "Helmond" by Various