MASER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does maser mean? 

• MASER (noun)
  The noun MASER has 1 sense:

1. an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation; an amplifier that works on the same principle as a laser and emits coherent microwave radiation

  Familiarity information: MASER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MASER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation; an amplifier that works on the same principle as a laser and emits coherent microwave radiation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("maser" is a kind of...):

amplifier (electronic equipment that increases strength of signals passing through it)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "maser"):

gas maser (a maser in which microwave radiation interacts with gas molecules)

 Context examples 

Two early clues — intense radio sources called masers — suggested the star was old.

(NASA Team Probes Peculiar Age-Defying Star, NASA)

Microwaves, the very same radiation that can heat up your dinner, are produced by a multitude of astrophysical sources, including strong emitters known as masers (microwave lasers), even stronger emitters with the somewhat villainous name of megamasers and the centers of some galaxies.

(Hubble's Megamaser Galaxy, ESA/NASA)

In astronomy, masers occur when the molecules in certain kinds of gases get revved up and emit a lot of radiation over a very limited range of frequencies.

(NASA Team Probes Peculiar Age-Defying Star, NASA)