point source

American  

noun

Physics, Optics.

1. a source of radiation sufficiently distant compared to its length and width that it can be considered as a point.

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point source British  

noun

1. optics a source of light or other radiation that can be considered to have negligible dimensions

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Etymology

Origin of point source

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

One PSF basically describes how an infinitely small point source of light originating in the sample is widened and spread into a three-dimensional diffraction pattern by the optical system.

From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024

The most common form of carbon capture technology involves capturing the gas from a point source like an industrial smokestack.

From Reuters • Nov. 22, 2023

They were also possibly from a single point source, such as a star, rather than a fuzzy galaxy, says Paulin, who will start graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

From Scientific American • Jul. 20, 2023

Steel Mon Valley Works spews health- and climate-harming pollution, propelling Allegheny County to the top 1 percent of all counties in the United States for urban and nonurban point source air toxics emissions.

From Washington Post • Feb. 3, 2023

"It's a point source, though, not an object at this range."

From Masters of Space by Berry, Robert Lee