An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

→ charge-coupled device.

→ CCD; → detector.

An elementary particle detector using a special apparatus capable of operating at high rates. The detector consists of an → array of many closely spaced parallel wires, or → anodes, in an enclosure filled with a carefully chosen gas. The wires, being placed between two → cathode plates, are under high voltage. Each wire acts as an independent → proportional counter. The particle that passes through the chamber will ionize surrounding gaseous atoms. The resulting ions and electrons are accelerated by the electric field around the wire, causing a localized cascade of ionization which brings about an electric current proportional to the energy of the detected particle. Previous detectors, such as the → bubble chamber, could record the tracks left by particles on photographic emulsions at the rate of only one or two per second. In comparison, the multiwire chamber records up to one million tracks per second in three dimensions with an accuracy of a tenth of a millimeter and moreover sends the data directly to a computer for analysis. The speed and precision of the multiwire chamber has revolutionized high-energy physics. For instance it was crucial in finding the predicted → W boson and → Z boson of the → electroweak interaction theory. Charpak's chamber also has applications in medicine, biology, and industry. Also called → multiwire proportional chamber.

In honor of Georges Charpak (1924-2010), a French physicist, who built the first detector of this type in 1968. He received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1992; → detector.

To uncover the presence of, as of a sought-for nuclear particle or an astronomical object.
In radio communication, to extract the signal from its modulated carrier wave.

From M.E., from L. detectus, p.p. of detegere "uncover, disclose," from → de- reversal prefix + tegere "to cover."

škâridan "to reveal," infinitive of âškâr "manifest, clear," Mid.Pers. âškârak "manifest," from Proto-Iranian *âviškâra- from *âviš, Av. âviš "manifestly," + *kâra-, from kar- "to do, make," cf. Skt. avistya- "apparent, manifest."

The act or state of detecting, → detect
Any operation on an electrical or electromagnetic signal to recover information from it.

M.E., from L.L. detection-, from detect(us), → detect, + -ion.

škâreš, from âškâr present-tense stem of âškâridan→ detect + -š verbal noun suffix.

The square of the ratio of the output → signal-to-noise (S/N) to the input S/N.

Detective, adj. of → detect; → quantum; → efficiency.

A performance criterion for an electronic detector, reciprocal of the corresponding → noise-equivalent power (D = 1/NEP).

From detective, relating to → detect + → -ity.

A device whose main function is detection.
Any device or array of electronic sensors connected to a computer, used to detect the passage of a particle or photon; e.g. a → charge-coupled device (CCD).

L.L. detector, from deteg(ere), → detect, + -tor suffix forming agent noun.

škârgar, from âškâr present-tense stem of âškâridan "to detect" + -gar a suffix of agent nouns, from kar-, kardan "to do, to make" (Mid.Pers. kardan, O.Pers./Av. kar- "to do, make, build," Av. kərənaoiti "makes," cf. Skt. kr- "to do, to make," krnoti "makes," karma "act, deed;" PIE base k^wer- "to do, to make").

A detector with two-dimensional capability, such as a CCD.

→ image; → → scale.

A thermal device for observing and measuring → infrared radiation.

→ infrared; → detector.

A detector usually constituted by a p-n junction. Upon irradiation, the electron-hole pairs which are created, are immediately separated by the strong electric field across the junction, and a current is generated, which is proportional to the number of incident photons per second.

→ photo- + → voltaic; → detector.

A detector that senses the change of temperature due to the absorption of photons.

→ thermal; → detector.