resonance radiation

noun

, Physics.

1. radiation emitted by an atom or molecule, having the same frequency as that of an incident particle, as a photon, and usually involving a transition to the lowest energy level of the atom or molecule.

Word History and Origins

Origin of resonance radiation¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

It is not necessary to attempt a choice; but since the pre-eminence of first mention must be accorded to some one thing, let it be the great sequence of Wood's studies of the fluorescence of gases evoked by light of frequencies rigidly controlled and identical with natural frequencies of the illuminated gas, and to which he gave the general name of 'resonance radiation.'

From Time Magazine Archive