collimator
Optics.
a fixed telescope for use in collimating other instruments.
an optical system that transmits parallel rays of light, as the receiving lens or telescope of a spectroscope.
Physics. a device for producing a beam of particles in which the paths of all the particles are parallel.
Origin of collimator
1Words Nearby collimator
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use collimator in a sentence
The slit and lens, together with the tube in which they are usually supported, are called a collimator.
A Text-Book of Astronomy | George C. ComstockThe form of spectroscope mentioned above, in which the collimator and slit are replaced by a concave lens, will be tried.
The French collimator sight for the 75-millimeter gun presented difficulties to the manufacturer, especially in the optical parts.
America's Munitions 1917-1918 | Benedict CrowellThe collimator and observing telescope have an aperture of 25 mm., focus of 200 mm.
Astronomical Instruments and Accessories | Wm. Gaertner & Co.The slit and collimator are shown; the micrometer end of the observing telescope is out of the picture.
The Ether of Space | Oliver Lodge
British Dictionary definitions for collimator
/ (ˈkɒlɪˌmeɪtə) /
a small telescope attached to a larger optical instrument as an aid in fixing its line of sight
an optical system of lenses and slits producing a nondivergent beam of light, usually for use in spectroscopes
any device for limiting the size and angle of spread of a beam of radiation or particles
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for collimator
[ kŏl′ə-mā′tər ]
A device that turns incoming radiation, such as light, into parallel beams. Simple collimators consists of a tube having a narrow, variable slit at one end and a convex lens at the other. Radiation entering the tube through the slit exits the lens in the form of parallel beams. Collimators are used to establish focal lengths of lenses and to measure the distance of distant objects whose position is known.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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