crystal detector

American  

noun

Radio.

1. a device for rectifying a modulated radio-frequency signal, consisting of a crystal of germanium, silicon, galena, or the like with a cat whisker contact, permitting a high-frequency current to pass freely in one direction only: one of the two principal components of a crystal set.

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crystal detector British  

noun

1. electronics a demodulator, used esp in microwave circuits and in early radio receivers, consisting of a thin metal wire in point contact with a semiconductor crystal

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Etymology

Origin of crystal detector

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

crystal detector

But hidden in Becky's suitcase was a sophisticated sodium iodide crystal detector to sniff minute amounts of gamma radiation from as far away as another room.

From Time Magazine Archive

Don't expect to get as good results with a crystal detector as with a vacuum tube detector.

From The Radio Amateur's Hand Book by A. Frederick (Archie Frederick) Collins

This set is built up exactly like the crystal detector described above and shown in Fig.

From The Radio Amateur's Hand Book by A. Frederick (Archie Frederick) Collins

"Connected to the aerial and the earth, with a crystal detector in series, it is only a matter of applying an ordinary photo-recording drum, and the machine is made."

From The Social Gangster by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve

The crystal detector consists of some mineral crystal and a fine-wire point, usually platinum.

From Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son by John Mills