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spec⋅trum

[spek-truh

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–noun, plural -tra [-truh]

, -trums.

Physics.

a.	an array of entities, as light waves or particles, ordered in accordance with the magnitudes of a common physical property, as wavelength or mass: often the band of colors produced when sunlight is passed through a prism, comprising red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

this band or series of colors together with extensions at the ends that are not visible to the eye, but that can be studied by means of photography, heat effects, etc., and that are produced by the dispersion of radiant energy other than ordinary light rays. Compare band spectrum, electromagnetic spectrum, mass spectrum.

2.	a broad range of varied but related ideas or objects, the individual features of which tend to overlap so as to form a continuous series or sequence: the spectrum of political beliefs.

Origin:
1605–15; < L: appearance, form, equiv. to spec(ere) to look, regard + -trum instrumental n. suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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spec·trum (spěk'trəm)

n. pl. spec·tra (-trə) or spec·trums

Physics The distribution of a characteristic of a physical system or phenomenon, especially:
1. The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, as by an incandescent body, arranged in order of wavelengths.
2. The distribution of atomic or subatomic particles in a system, as in a magnetically resolved molecular beam, arranged in order of masses.
3. A range of values of a quantity or set of related quantities.
4. A broad sequence or range of related qualities, ideas, or activities: the whole spectrum of 20th-century thought.
A graphic or photographic representation of such a distribution.
1. A range of values of a quantity or set of related quantities.
2. A broad sequence or range of related qualities, ideas, or activities: the whole spectrum of 20th-century thought.

[Latin, appearance, from specere, to look at; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Spectrum

Spec"trum\, n.; pl. Spectra. [L. See Specter.]

1. An apparition; a specter. [Obs.]

2. (Opt.) (a) The several colored and other rays of which light is composed, separated by the refraction of a prism or other means, and observed or studied either as spread out on a screen, by direct vision, by photography, or otherwise. See Illust. of Light, and Spectroscope. (b) A luminous appearance, or an image seen after the eye has been exposed to an intense light or a strongly illuminated object. When the object is colored, the image appears of the complementary color, as a green image seen after viewing a red wafer lying on white paper. Called also ocular spectrum.

Absorption spectrum, the spectrum of light which has passed through a medium capable of absorbing a portion of the rays. It is characterized by dark spaces, bands, or lines.

Chemical spectrum, a spectrum of rays considered solely with reference to their chemical effects, as in photography. These, in the usual photogrophic methods, have their maximum influence at and beyond the violet rays, but are not limited to this region.

Chromatic spectrum, the visible colored rays of the solar spectrum, exhibiting the seven principal colors in their order, and covering the central and larger portion of the space of the whole spectrum.

Continous spectrum, a spectrum not broken by bands or lines, but having the colors shaded into each other continously, as that from an incandescent solid or liquid, or a gas under high pressure.

Diffraction spectrum, a spectrum produced by diffraction, as by a grating.

Gaseous spectrum, the spectrum of an incandesoent gas or vapor, under moderate, or especially under very low, pressure. It is characterized by bright bands or lines.

Normal spectrum, a representation of a spectrum arranged upon conventional plan adopted as standard, especially a spectrum in which the colors are spaced proportionally to their wave lengths, as when formed by a diffraction grating.

Ocular spectrum. See Spectrum, 2 (b), above.

Prismatic spectrum, a spectrum produced by means of a prism.

Solar spectrum, the spectrum of solar light, especially as thrown upon a screen in a darkened room. It is characterized by numerous dark lines called Fraunhofer lines.

Spectrum analysis, chemical analysis effected by comparison of the different relative positions and qualities of the fixed lines of spectra produced by flames in which different substances are burned or evaporated, each substance having its own characteristic system of lines.

Thermal spectrum, a spectrum of rays considered solely with reference to their heating effect, especially of those rays which produce no luminous phenomena.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : spectrum

Spanish: espectro,

German: das Spektrum,

Japanese: スペクトル

More Translations »

spectrum

The range of wavelengths characteristic of a specific type of radiation.

Note: The spectrum making up visible light contains light in the colors violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, with violet having the shortest wavelength and highest frequency, and red having the longest wavelength and lowest frequency.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

spectrum

1611, "apparition, specter," from L. spectrum "appearance, image, apparition," from specere "to look at, view" (see scope (1)). Meaning "band of colors formed from a beam of light" first recorded 1671. Spectroscope (1861) is a hybrid, with Gk. -skopion, from skopein "to look at, examine," which is from the same PIE root as spectrum.

Main Entry: spec·trum
Pronunciation: 'spek-tr&m
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural spec·tra /-tr&/ or spectrums
1 a : a continuum of color formed when a beam of white light is dispersed (as by passage through a prism) so that its component wavelengths are arranged in order b : any of various continua that resemble a spectrum in consisting of an ordered arrangement by a particular characteristic (as frequency or energy): as (1) : ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM (2) : MASSSPECTRUM c : the representation (as a plot) of a spectrum
2 : a continuous sequence or range; specifically : a range of effectivenessagainst pathogenic organisms spectrum>

spectrum spec·trum (spěk'trəm)
n. pl. spec·trums or spec·tra (-trə)

The distribution of a characteristic of a physical system or phenomenon, especially the distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source arranged in order of wavelengths.
The color image presented when white light is resolved into its constituent colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
The plot of intensity as opposed to wavelength of light emitted or absorbed by a substance, usually characteristic of the substance and used in qualitative and quantitative analysis.
The distribution of atomic or subatomic particles in a system, as in a magnetically resolved molecular beam, arranged in order of masses.
The group of pathogenic organisms against which an antibiotic or other antibacterial agent is effective.

spectrum (spěk'trəm) Pronunciation Key
Plural spectra (spěk'trə) or spectrums

A range over which some measurable property of a physical phenomenon, such as the frequency of sound or electromagnetic radiation, or the mass of specific kinds of particles, can vary. For example, the spectrum of visible light is the range of electromagnetic radiation with frequencies between between 4.7 × 10¹⁴ and 7.5 × 10¹⁴ hertz.
The observed distribution of a phenomenon across a range of measurement. See more at atomic spectrum , spectroscopy.

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