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.

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of geophone

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

Example Sentences

There was a tense five minutes as the geophone expert listened.

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

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

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

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

"That's what the geophone man heard," Owens commented to the reporter.

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

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)