: a device or object that emits coherent microwave radiation produced by the natural oscillations of atoms or molecules between energy levels
Examples of maser in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Townes’s work on the maser led to the laser—after a sabbatical in Europe and Japan and a few years researching the ammonia beam and solid-state masers.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 28 Jan. 2015
Enlarge Marvel Studios Enlarge / Dr. Charles H. Townes, inventor of the maser, a key component of atomic clocks, illustrates the differences between it and a standard clock.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 Nov. 2023
The maser and laser were by no means the sole focus of Townes’s career.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Jan. 2015
One source is very long baseline interferometry which picks up radio signals from masers —stars that emit microwaves.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2023
Ye and co include the position of almost 24,000 of these with a similar accuracy to masers.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2023
But few of us have encountered the laser’s cold war–era relative, the maser, which produces concentrated beams of microwaves.
—Fangfei Shen, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2013
The resulting maser is smaller than a pineapple.
—Fangfei Shen, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2013
This is the light that forms the maser.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 26 Apr. 2022
IEEE Spectrum, 28 Jan. 2015
Enlarge Marvel Studios Enlarge / Dr. Charles H. Townes, inventor of the maser, a key component of atomic clocks, illustrates the differences between it and a standard clock.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 Nov. 2023
The maser and laser were by no means the sole focus of Townes’s career.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Jan. 2015
One source is very long baseline interferometry which picks up radio signals from masers —stars that emit microwaves.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2023
Ye and co include the position of almost 24,000 of these with a similar accuracy to masers.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2023
But few of us have encountered the laser’s cold war–era relative, the maser, which produces concentrated beams of microwaves.
—Fangfei Shen, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2013
The resulting maser is smaller than a pineapple.
—Fangfei Shen, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2013
This is the light that forms the maser.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 26 Apr. 2022
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Cite this Entry
“Maser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maser. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
maser
noun
ma·ser
ˈmā-zər 
: a device that uses the natural vibrations of atoms or molecules for generating electromagnetic radiation at a single microwave frequency
Medical Definition
maser
noun
ma·ser
ˈmā-zər
: a device that utilizes the natural oscillations of atoms or molecules between energy levels for generating electromagnetic radiation in the microwave region of the spectrum
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