absorption line

noun

: a dark line in an absorption spectrum

Examples of absorption line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This will manifest as dark absorption lines on the star's spectrum; the wavelengths at which these lines are found correspond to different molecules, allowing astro-chemists to learn what gases and dust particles inhabit the disk. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2025 By the time the universe was about 1 billion years old, those absorption lines fade out, indicating the disappearance of the last remaining neutral hydrogen. Bydaniel Clery, science.org, 10 Sep. 2024 The only requirement is the presence of an atom with an x-ray absorption line covered by the x-ray probe’s spectrum, making elements like silicon viable candidates for exploration. IEEE Spectrum, 9 Jan. 2024 Because spectra also reveal the gas’s chemical components, density, temperature, and motion toward or away from Earth, for the last 50 years quasar absorption line studies have remained one of the best ways to study cosmic gas. Ann Finkbeiner, Discover Magazine, 28 Aug. 2019 With an extra neutron in its nucleus, the deuterium absorption line overlaps with, but its peak is off-center from, the peak of the normal hydrogen. Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021 After reanalyzing the data, Greaves said her team still finds an absorption line for phosphine, but at far lower levels of 1 part per billion (ppb). Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 17 Nov. 2020 Instead, proof could arrive in the form of very distinct spectroscopic features—particularly an absorption line at 450 nanometers within the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Shannon Hall, Scientific American, 12 June 2019 The most prominent absorption lines of hydrogen and ionized oxygen are at very short wavelengths, in the ultraviolet and X-ray portions of the spectrum. Quanta Magazine, 19 Sep. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of absorption line was in 1861

Dictionary Entries Near absorption line

Cite this Entry

“Absorption line.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absorption%20line. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.

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