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spectral line

noun Optics.

a line in a spectrum due to the absorption or emission of light at a discrete frequency.

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Nearby words

  1. spector,
  2. spectra,
  3. spectra yellow,
  4. spectral,
  5. spectral class,
  6. spectral luminous efficiency,
  7. spectral series,
  8. spectral type,
  9. spectrally,
  10. spectre

Origin of spectral line

First recorded in 1865–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Science definitions for spectral line

spectral line

[ spĕk′trəl ]

An isolated bright or dark line in a spectrograph produced by emission or absorption of light of a single wavelength, generally corresponding to a specific shift in the energy of an electron moving from one orbital to another.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.