pulsar
Astronomy. one of several hundred known celestial objects, generally believed to be rapidly rotating neutron stars, that emit pulses of radiation, especially radio waves, with a high degree of regularity.
Compare Meanings
Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
Origin of pulsar
1Words Nearby pulsar
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pulsar in a sentence
We can watch this loss of energy by very carefully studying the blinking of the pulsars.
Scientists Counted 20 Billion Ticks of an Extreme Galactic Clock to Test Einstein’s Theory of Gravity | Adam Deller | December 16, 2021 | Singularity HubIn 2003, astronomers at CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope, Murriyang, in New South Wales discovered a double pulsar system 2,400 light years away that offers a perfect opportunity to study general relativity under extreme conditions.
Scientists Counted 20 Billion Ticks of an Extreme Galactic Clock to Test Einstein’s Theory of Gravity | Adam Deller | December 16, 2021 | Singularity HubCombining these painstaking measurements allows us to precisely track the orbits of each pulsar.
Scientists Counted 20 Billion Ticks of an Extreme Galactic Clock to Test Einstein’s Theory of Gravity | Adam Deller | December 16, 2021 | Singularity HubWhile physicists have found plenty of individual pulsars, there’s only one known pair orbiting one another.
The only known pulsar duo sheds new light on general relativity and more | Emily Conover | December 13, 2021 | Science NewsFor over 16 years, scientists have been observing the pair of pulsars, neutron stars that appear to pulsate.
The only known pulsar duo sheds new light on general relativity and more | Emily Conover | December 13, 2021 | Science News
The first clue is the behavior of a pulsar—a tiny but massive object that rapidly rotates, sending flashes of light toward Earth.
British Dictionary definitions for pulsar
/ (ˈpʌlˌsɑː) /
any of a number of very small extremely dense objects first observed in 1967, which rotate very rapidly and emit very regular pulses of polarized radiation, esp radio waves. They are thought to be neutron stars formed following supernova explosions
Origin of pulsar
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for pulsar
[ pŭl′sär′ ]
A rapidly spinning neutron star that emits radiation, usually radio waves, in narrow beams focused by the star's powerful magnetic field and streaming outward from its magnetic poles. Because the pulsar's magnetic poles do not align with the poles of its rotational axis, the beams of radiation sweep around like the beacon of a lighthouse and are thus observed on Earth as short, regular pulses, with periods anywhere between 1 millisecond and 4 seconds.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for pulsar
[ (pul-sahr) ]
A rapidly rotating neutron star. The radiation from such a star appears to come in a series of regular pulses (one per revolution), which explains the name.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse