geophone

American  

[jee-uh-fohn] / ˈdʒi əˌfoʊn /

noun

1. a device that is placed on or in the ground and used to detect seismic waves.

---

geophone Scientific  

/ jē′ə-fōn′ /

1. An electronic receiver designed to pick up seismic vibrations on or below the Earth's surface and to convert them into electric impulses that are proportional to the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of ground movement. Geophones detect motion in only one direction and are usually used in groups of at least three, oriented at different angles, so that a three-dimensional record of ground movement can be obtained.

---

Etymology

Origin of geophone

First recorded in 1915–20; geo- + -phone

Example Sentences

On Monday there arrived from Washington a Bureau of Mines expert, with a new listening-device, known as a geophone.

From The Boy With the U.S. Miners by Rolt-Wheeler, Francis

We entered our bare little room and Kennedy set to work as though to detach the geophone, while I explained it to our client.

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

Though we both listened some time, neither of us could now hear a sound through the geophone except those made by passing trolleys and street vehicles.

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

I left that geophone down there in the room next door which I hired.

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

Of course, listening over the geophone, I couldn't watch the Bank Building, too.

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