maser
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Physics
| Stands for | Microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
maser stands for Microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, a physics abbreviation.
Microwave counterpart and predecessor of the laser, producing coherent, amplified microwaves. Hydrogen masers serve as ultra-stable clocks in observatories and navigation systems, and maser amplifiers were used in radio astronomy and deep-space communications.
Example: The radio telescope's timing comes from a hydrogen maser stable to about one second in millions of years.
Usage notes
Charles Townes, James Gordon and Herbert Zeiger built the first maser at Columbia University in 1953-1954 using ammonia molecules; Townes shared the 1964 Nobel Prize with Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov. Natural masers occur in space, where water and hydroxyl molecules in star-forming clouds amplify microwave emission.
Related abbreviations
More physics abbreviations
- kB – Boltzmann constant
- KE – Kinetic energy
- laser – Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
- LHC – Large Hadron Collider
- lidar – Light detection and ranging
- LIGO – Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
- MHD – Magnetohydrodynamics
- NA – Avogadro constant
- NIF – National Ignition Facility
- NIR – Near-infrared
- PE – Potential energy
- PMT – Photomultiplier tube