pyrheliometer

American  

[pahy^uhr-hee-lee-om-i-ter, pir-] / ˌpaɪər hi liˈɒm ɪ tər, ˌpɪr- /

noun

Astrophysics.

1. an instrument for measuring the total intensity of the sun's energy radiation.

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pyrheliometer British  

/ pəˌhiːlɪˈɒmɪtə, pəˌhiːlɪəʊˈmɛtrɪk /

noun

1. an instrument for measuring the intensity of the sun's radiant energy

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pyrheliometer Scientific  

/ pīr′hē-lē-ŏm′ĭ-tər /

1. An instrument used to measure the total amount of radiation from the Sun that hits a surface. It works by converting the Sun's heat into a voltage that is then recorded by a voltmeter.

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Other Word Forms

• pyrheliometric adjective

Etymology

Origin of pyrheliometer

First recorded in 1860–65; pyr- + helio- + -meter

Example Sentences

Herschell’s actinometer and Pouillet’s pyrheliometer, instruments for ascertaining the absolute heating effect of the sun’s rays, should, however, be more generally employed by meteorologists.

From A Treatise on Meteorological Instruments Explanatory of Their Scientific Principles, Method of Construction, and Practical Utility by Negretti, Henry

Humphreys gathers together and amplifies all that he and Abbot and Fowle have previously said as to observations of the sun's thermal radiation by means of the pyrheliometer.

From Climatic Changes Their Nature and Causes by Huntington, Ellsworth