undulator

American  

[uhn-juh-layt-er, uhn-dyuh-] / ˈʌn dʒəˌleɪt ər, ˈʌn djə- /

noun

• undulators
  plural

1. Physics. an arrangement of magnets of alternating polarity inserted into the path of an electron beam, so that the alternating magnetic field causes the beam to oscillate or undulate, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation. Undulators are usually part of a synchrotron storage ring and are used to generate brilliant light.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• undulators
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

undulator undulators

This ultrahigh-frequency undulator means electrons can be made to wiggle and emit x-rays at much lower energies.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 22, 2023

But where the polarity of undulator fields alternates over a few centimeters, the laser’s field seesaws along with the wavelength of the light—just 1 micrometer.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 22, 2023

Within an undulator, small magnets above and below the beam pipe lined up like teeth, with the north poles of neighboring magnets alternating up and down.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 25, 2021

The teeth are about an inch apart along the undulator, and this seems coarse for an apparatus that yields such tiny waves.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the undulator is "shrunk" by one of the strange effects connected with Einstein's relativity.

From Time Magazine Archive

In a free electron laser, a linear accelerator, or linac, shoots a beam of high-energy electrons into a string of complex magnets called undulators.

From Science Magazine ● Sep. 18, 2023

They’ve also replaced the original string of undulators with two new ones and rebuilt the instruments they feed.

From Science Magazine ● Sep. 18, 2023

The ASU team plans to replace the bulky magnetic undulators with a laser shone directly into the oncoming train of electrons.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 22, 2023

Others had used plasma wakefield accelerators to coax light out of undulators before.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 25, 2021

Hamburg’s facility also has a larger capacity than its competitors: unlike other XFELs, it has three separate undulators to create simultaneous X-ray beams, with the 27,000 pulses per second distributed among them.

From Nature ● Aug. 28, 2017