collimator

American  

[kol-uh-mey-ter] / ˈkɒl əˌmeɪ tər /

noun

1. Optics.

   1. a fixed telescope for use in collimating other instruments.

   2. an optical system that transmits parallel rays of light, as the receiving lens or telescope of a spectroscope.

2. Physics. a device for producing a beam of particles in which the paths of all the particles are parallel.

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collimator British  

/ ˈkɒlɪˌmeɪtə /

noun

1. a small telescope attached to a larger optical instrument as an aid in fixing its line of sight

2. an optical system of lenses and slits producing a nondivergent beam of light, usually for use in spectroscopes

3. any device for limiting the size and angle of spread of a beam of radiation or particles

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collimator Scientific  

/ kŏl′ə-mā′tər /

1. A device that turns incoming radiation, such as light, into parallel beams. Simple collimators consists of a tube having a narrow, variable slit at one end and a convex lens at the other. Radiation entering the tube through the slit exits the lens in the form of parallel beams. Collimators are used to establish focal lengths of lenses and to measure the distance of distant objects whose position is known.

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Etymology

Origin of collimator

First recorded in 1815–25; collimate + -or ²

Example Sentences

Figure 32.5 An Anger or gamma camera consists of a lead collimator and an array of detectors.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

One common imaging device is the Anger camera, which consists of a lead collimator, radiation detectors, and an analysis computer.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

I enclose the radioactive sodium in a so-called collimator: a lead storage canister in which I drilled a 1/2-inch hole at either end.

From Scientific American • Feb. 14, 2013

The hospital went ahead and radiated the patient, only to discover later that the multileaf collimator had been wide open.

From New York Times • Jan. 24, 2010

The other collimator is of a form originally due, I think, to Dr. Johnstone Stoney.

From Photographs of Nebul? and Clusters Made with the Crossley Reflector by Keeler, James Edward