scintillator

American

[sin-tl-ey-ter] / ˈsɪn tlˌeɪ tər /

noun

Physics.

a phosphor capable of producing scintillations.

scintillator British

/ ˈsɪntɪˌleɪtə /

noun

physics a phosphor that produces scintillations

"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

Etymology

Origin of scintillator

First recorded in 1870–75; scintillate + -or ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"This discovery uses the natural abundance of carbon-13 within the experiment's liquid scintillator to measure a specific, rare interaction," Kraus said.

From Science Daily • Dec. 12, 2025

Some of the surviving electron antineutrinos will slam into a proton in the scintillator, producing an energetic positron that results in a flash of light.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 22, 2023

It features 507 scintillator detectors, or high-energy particle detectors.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2018

Each supermodule contained 243 of the octagonal steel plates, alternated vertically with custom-built plastic scintillator strips containing fiber optic cable.

From Washington Times • Nov. 5, 2016

Following this reasoning, Ryan developed his scintillator consisting of a battery of search-light beams projected upward through clouds of steam which provided an artificial fog.

From Artificial Light Its Influence upon Civilization by Luckiesh, Matthew

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023