maser

American  

[mey-zer] / ˈmeɪ zər /

noun

1. a device for amplifying electromagnetic waves by stimulated emission of radiation.

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maser British  

/ ˈmeɪzə /

noun

1. a device for amplifying microwaves, working on the same principle as a laser

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maser Scientific  

/ mā′zər /

1. Short for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. A device that generates coherent microwaves using the same principles as a laser. Masers are used in a variety of applications, including in atomic clocks. Natural masers are found in outer space when water or other substances are excited by radiation from a star or by the energy of a collision.

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Etymology

Origin of maser

1950–55; m(icrowave) a(mplification by) s(timulated) e(mission of ) r(adiation)

Example Sentences

This releases a burst of energy that heats up the disk as it moves outwards - and produces maser emissions on the way.

From Space Scoop

Fortunately, molecules of water and methyl alcohol just outside the regions ionized by these hot stars can be very bright radio sources because they emit natural “maser” emission that is barely attenuated by galactic dust.

From Scientific American

Observations at the different sites were coordinated using atomic clocks, called hydrogen masers, accurate to within one second every 100 million years.

From The Guardian

In the late 1950s, Gould explored using light to optically ‘pump’ a maser — a device emitting microwaves at a specific frequency, invented by physicist Charles Townes in 1953.

From Nature

Invented in the 1950s, masers use microwaves instead of light, but they were somewhat eclipsed by the much more practical laser.

From Nature