spectrometer

/spɛkˈtɹɑm.ɪ.təɹ/

UK: /spɛkˈtɹɒm.ɪ.tə/

SPƐKTɹⱭM · ɪ · təɹ (3 syllables)

English Noun Top 41,769

Definition

An optical instrument for measuring the absorption of light by chemical substances; typically it will plot a graph of absorption versus wavelength or frequency, and the patterns produced are used to identify the substances present, and their internal structure.

Etymology

From spectro- + -meter.