maser

noun

ma·​ser ˈmā-zər 

: 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

In fact, observations of these masers have proved that our Milky Way is a magnificent example of a spiral galaxy. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2025

The observatory’s central building—a one-story structure housing workshops, desks, racks of processors, and a maser used to distribute clock signals to the telescopes—is completely wrapped in a continuous steel sheet. —IEEE Spectrum, 28 Nov. 2017

Those applications include satellite technology, masers, microwave photon detection, hunting for axions (a dark matter candidate), and various quantum systems, and driving spin in superconducting qubits for quantum computing, among others. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 27 Dec. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for maser

• blazer
• gazer
• glazer
• kayser
• laser
• lazar
• mazer
• phasor
• raiser
• razor
• taser
• appraiser

Kids 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