angstrom

¹

[ ang-struhm ]

noun

, (often initial capital letter)

1. a unit of length, equal to one tenth of a millimicron, or one ten millionth of a millimeter, primarily used to express electromagnetic wavelengths. : Å; : A

Ångström

²

[ ang-struhm; Swedish awng-strœm ]

noun

1. An·ders Jo·nas [an, -derz , joh, -n, uh, s, ahn, -d, uh, r, s-, yoo, -nahs], 1814–74, Swedish astronomer and physicist.

Ångström

¹

/ ˈæŋstrəm; ˈɔŋstrœm /

noun

1. ÅngströmAnders Jonas18141874MSwedishSCIENCE: physicist Anders Jonas (ˈandərs ˈjuːnas). 1814–74, Swedish physicist, noted for his work on spectroscopy and solar physics

angstrom

²

/ ˈæŋstrʌm; -strəm /

noun

1. Also calledangstrom unit a unit of length equal to 10 ^–10metre, used principally to express the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiations. It is equivalent to 0.1 nanometre ÅA

angstrom

¹

/ ăng′strəm /

1. A unit of length equal to one hundred-millionth (10 ^-10) of a meter. It was once used to measure wavelengths of light and the diameters of atoms, but has now been mostly replaced by the nanometer.

Ångström

²

/ ăng′strəm /

1. Swedish physicist and astronomer who pioneered the use of the spectroscope in the analysis of radiation. By studying the spectrum of visible light given off by the Sun, Ångström discovered that there is hydrogen in the Sun's atmosphere. The angstrom unit of measurement is named for him.

Word History and Origins

Origin of angstrom¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; named after A. J. Ångström ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of angstrom¹

C20: named after Anders J. Ångström

Example Sentences

Across the molecule, it measures twenty-three angstroms—one-thousandth of one-thousandth of a millimeter.

From Literature

In the best cases, researchers can now make maps with resolutions below 2 angstroms, putting cryo-EM on par with crystallography.

From Science Magazine

The FBI did salvage an angstrom of pride by opening the phone without Apple’s help.

From Time

In the new work, the chemists cooled gaseous buckyballs in the laboratory to frigid interstellar temperatures and measured the spectrum of the gas, finding lines at wavelengths of 9577 and 9632 angstroms.

From Science Magazine

Angst was a play on words; shorthand for "angstrom," a unit to measure wavelengths, that also described the anxiousness around a venture founded in Kuke's bedroom with two computers and a few USB sticks.

From Los Angeles Times