spinthariscope

American  

[spin-thar-uh-skohp] / spɪnˈθær əˌskoʊp /

noun

1. an instrument that detects ionizing radiation by picking up sparks of light from alpha particles.

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spinthariscope British  

/ spɪnˈθærɪˌskəʊp /

noun

1. a device for observing ionizing radiation, consisting of a tube with a magnifying lens at one end and a phosphorescent screen at the other. A particle hitting the screen produces a scintillation

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Other Word Forms

• spinthariscopic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of spinthariscope

First recorded in 1900–1905; formed irregulary from Greek spintharí(s) (inflectional stem spintharíd- ) “spark” + -scope ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spinthariscope

Sir W. Crookes has invented a curious little apparatus, the spinthariscope, which enables us to examine the phosphorescence of the blende excited by these rays.

From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien

A simple form of apparatus called the spinthariscope has been devised to show these scintillations.

From A Brief Account of Radio-activity by Venable, Francis Preston

Included in the microscopy set Barby had given him was a gadget called a spinthariscope, like a cone of black plastic with the sharp end of the cone sliced off.

From The Blue Ghost Mystery by Goodwin, Harold L. (Harold Leland)

You see it at a thousand points, at ten thousand points, look, the world is all flashing and flickering; it is like a spinthariscope; it is aquiver with the light that is coming to mankind.

From Soul of a Bishop by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

Chemical analysis fails to reach the radio-active properties, and for their examination the electroscope and spinthariscope are needful.

From The Grey Room by Phillpotts, Eden