maser

[mey-zer]

noun

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

Compare laser.

Origin of maser

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for maser

Historical Examples of maser

Rhazes quoted Maser Djawah freely and evidently trusted his declarations implicitly.
Old-Time Makers of Medicine
James J. Walsh
The mazer-bowls were made from maple-wood, so named from the German Maser, a spotted wood.
Cups and their Customs
George Edwin Roberts
"Don't try and buff me, dinAlt," the maser barrel pushed harder against his back.
The Ethical Engineer
Henry Maxwell Dempsey

British Dictionary definitions for maser

maser

noun

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

Word Origin for maser

C20: m (icrowave) a (mplification by) s (timulated) e (mission of) r (adiation)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for maser

1955, acronym from "microwave amplification (by) stimulated emission (of) radiation."

maser in Science

maser

[mā′zər]

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.