absorption spectrum
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absorption spectrum
n.
The electromagnetic spectrum, broken by a specific pattern of dark lines or bands, observed when radiation traverses a particular absorbing medium and through a spectroscope. The absorption pattern of an element is unique and can be used to identify the substance of the medium.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
absorption spectrum
n
(General Physics) the characteristic pattern of dark lines or bands that occurs when electromagnetic radiation is passed through an absorbing medium into a spectroscope. An equivalent pattern occurs as coloured lines or bands in the emission spectrum of that medium
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
absorp′tion spec`trum
n.
the spectrum formed by electromagnetic radiation that has passed through a medium in which radiation of certain frequencies is absorbed.
[1875–80]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
absorption spectrum
The pattern of dark lines and colors made when light passes through an absorbing medium, such as a gas or liquid. The dark lines represent the colors that are absorbed. Because each type of atom absorbs a unique range of colors, the absorption spectrum can be used to identify the composition of distant substances, such as the gaseous outer layers of stars.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  absorption spectrum - the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that has passed through a medium that absorbed radiation of certain wavelengthsspectrum - an ordered array of the components of an emission or wave |
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