BEAM OF LIGHT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does beam of light mean? 

• BEAM OF LIGHT (noun)
  The noun BEAM OF LIGHT has 1 sense:

1. a column of light (as from a beacon)

  Familiarity information: BEAM OF LIGHT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BEAM OF LIGHT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A column of light (as from a beacon)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

beam; beam of light; irradiation; light beam; ray; ray of light; shaft; shaft of light

Hypernyms ("beam of light" is a kind of...):

light; visible light; visible radiation ((physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beam of light"):

heat ray (a ray that produces a thermal effect)

high beam (the beam of a car's headlights that provides distant illumination)

moon-ray; moon ray; moonbeam (a ray of moonlight)

sunbeam; sunray (a ray of sunlight)

laser beam (a beam of light generated by a laser)

low beam (the beam of a car's headlights that provides illumination for a short distance)

 Context examples 

An exam of the inside of the back of the eye using a beam of light and a hand-held lens.

(Indirect ophthalmoscopy, NCI Dictionary)

Dispersal of a beam of light into a range of directions as a result of physical interactions.

(Light Scattering, NCI Thesaurus)

A system of (usually) epifluorescence light microscopy in which a fine laser beam of light is scanned over the object through the objective lens.

(Confocal Microscopy, NCI Thesaurus)

The use of an intense beam of light, such as a laser, to seal off blood vessels or destroy tissue.

(Infrared Photocoagulation Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

On the table stood a dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant beam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It involves using a beam of light, usually ultraviolet light, that excites the electrons in molecules of certain compounds and causes them to emit light of a lower energy, typically, but not necessarily, visible light.

(Fluorescence Spectroscopy, NCI Thesaurus)