submillimeter

[ suhb-mil-uh-mee-ter ]

adjective

1. less than a millimeter in size:

   a submillimeter wave.

Word History and Origins

Origin of submillimeter¹

First recorded in 1950–55; sub- + millimeter

Example Sentences

Over its roughly three decades of observations, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory has played a key role in several scientific breakthroughs in astrophysics.

From Los Angeles Times

The decommissioning of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in July follows the removal of a University of Hawaii observatory a month earlier, and comes amid a cultural resurgence among native Hawaiians.

From Los Angeles Times

Toward the turn of the century, an upgraded Caltech Submillimeter Observatory started making maps of the sky.

From Los Angeles Times

The study involved high-resolution scans that enabled the researchers to visualize brain connections at submillimeter spatial resolution.

From Science Daily

Today, the region, which boasts more than 300 clear nights per year, hosts some of the world’s most significant observatories, including the internationally funded Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the European Southern Observatory, the latter of which is currently developing the Extremely Large Telescope, set to open in 2028.

From Salon