Definition of 'scintillation'
noun
1.
the act of scintillating
3.
the twinkling of stars or radio sources, caused by rapid changes in the density of the earth's atmosphere, the interplanetary medium, or the interstellar medium, producing uneven refraction of starlight
4. physics
a flash of light produced when a material scintillates
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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Word Frequency
scintillation in American English
noun
1.
the act of scintillating; sparkling
2.
a spark; flash
4. Astronomy
the twinkling of the stars caused by density changes in the atmosphere
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
L scintillatioWord Frequency
scintillation in American English
(ˌsɪntlˈeiʃən)
noun
1.
the act of scintillating; sparkling
2.
a spark or flash
4. Meteorology
any small-scale twinkling or shimmering of objects that are viewed through the atmosphere, caused by an interception of the
observer's line of view by inhomogeneities in the atmospheric refractive index
5. Physics
a.
b.
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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