thermoluminescence

American  

[thur-moh-loo-muh-nes-uhns] / ˌθɜr moʊˌlu məˈnɛs əns /

noun

Physics.

1. phosphorescence produced by the heating of a substance.

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thermoluminescence British  

/ ˌθɜːməʊˌluːmɪˈnɛsəns /

noun

1. phosphorescence of certain materials or objects as a result of heating. It is caused by pre-irradiation of the material inducing defects which are removed by the heat, the energy released appearing as light: used in archaeological dating

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Other Word Forms

• thermoluminescent
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of thermoluminescence

First recorded in 1895–1900; thermo- + luminescence

Example Sentences

Another team working at the same site applied a technique called thermoluminescence dating to bricks used in the site's architecture.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2023

Archaeologist Daniel Richter of the Max Planck in Leipzig used a thermoluminescence technique to measure how much time had elapsed since crystalline minerals in the flint were heated by fire.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 7, 2017

Dr. Hublin and his colleagues used a method called thermoluminescence to calculate how much time had passed since the blades were burned.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2017

Figure 30.35 Atoms frozen in an excited state when this Chinese ceramic figure was fired can be stimulated to de-excite and emit EM radiation by heating a sample of the ceramic—a process called thermoluminescence.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Some preliminary age checks, using a new technique called thermoluminescence testing, were run in 1967, but the results were inconclusive.

From Time Magazine Archive