resonatorn.
/ˈrɛzəneɪtə/, /ˈrɛzn̩eɪtə/, U.S. /ˈrɛzn̩eɪdər/ 1.
a. A structure or device which reinforces or amplifies sounds by resonance; esp. part of a musical instrument serving this purpose.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > audibility > sound magnification or reproduction > [noun] > other amplifying devices
micracoustic1684
microphone1684
polyacoustic1684
resonator1864
resonance cavity1867
resonance chamber1870
aerophone1878
megaphone1878
sphygmophone1879
phonendoscope1895
auxetophone1904
stentorphone1921
1864 D. B. St. J. Roosa tr. A. F. von Tröltsch Dis. Ear xv. 138 The air-cells of the mastoid process..are..to be compared to a resonator [Ger. Resonator], or sounding-board.
1873 S. Taylor Sound & Music (1896) 120 The sound-board of the pianoforte..is in fact a solid resonator.
1894 S. R. Bottone Electr. Instr. Making (ed. 6) 176 A paper resonator..greatly reinforces the sound when the phonograph is speaking.
1931 H. S. Williams Bk. Marvels 27 Here is a novel resonator, a sound-distributor, designed for use in movie theaters to give improved reproduction of all sounds.
1966 Crescendo Oct. 22/3 Sitting only three feet from the resonators of the vibes and the bell of Jimmy Heath's tenor.
2003 New Scientist 13 Dec. 43/2 The alemba is a triangle connected by a cord to a tubular resonator to amplify the sound.
b. In plural. The mouth, nose, and throat regarded as parts modifying the volume and timbre of the sound produced by the vocal cords.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > speech organs > types of speech organ > [noun]
articulator1742
resonators1888
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 May 1/3 These primary or laryngeal vocal tones are reinforced by the resonators, that is, by the portion of the larynx above the vocal cords, the upper throat or pharynx, the nose, and the mouth.
1922 Lancet 7 Oct. 779/2 The first blow of a word sets all the ‘resonators’, if there be such, in action, each giving its own free vibration.
1962 A. C. Gimson Introd. Pronunc. Eng. iii. 19 The way in which the speaker's vibrator and resonators function together.
2003 D. Williams tr. P. Pavis Analyzing Performance 132 It is possible for a trained listener to discern the body parts upon which resonators depend: jaws, tongue, pharyngeal muscle, [etc.].
2. An instrument designed to respond to a single note or tone as a result of resonance in a cavity, and able to be used to detect or otherwise respond to the note. Cf. Helmholtz resonator n. at Helmholtz n. Additions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > simple tone > instrument for detecting
resonator1865
1865 Q. Jrnl. Sci. 2 595 To distinguish them accurately and determine their intensity and pitch, requires an artificial help, which is supplied by the resonators of Helmholtz.
1876 tr. P. Blaserna Theory Sound viii. 171 The apparatus..is composed of 8 resonators adapted to the harmonic series of the fundamental note C.
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 467 It has been shewn..by means of resonators that the normal heart-sound consists of two notes.
1917 W. H. Howell Text-bk. Physiol. (ed. 6) xx. 398 It is only necessary to select a series of resonators corresponding to the series of overtones.
2000 P. W. B. Semmens & A. J. Goldfinch How Steam Locomotives really Work iii. 105 In later years ‘chime whistles’ were introduced, which have three, or sometimes four, separate resonators, each tuned to one of the notes of a chord.
3.
a. A device which exhibits electrical resonance (resonance n. 6); esp. one used for the detection of radio waves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > detector
resonator1883
detector1894
crystal detector1908
ratio detector1947
slope detector1958
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > alternating current > [noun] > effect of equal currents > device displaying
resonant cavity1831
resonator1883
1883 A. G. Bell in Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 125 43 The peculiar effects..seemed to depend..upon the use of a condenser acting as a sort of electrical resonator for this tone.
1893 R. S. Ball Story of Sun 121 A photographic plate, or a Hertzian resonator, to astonish us.
1898 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 301 With a ‘resonator’ of similar construction..he was able to detect answering sparks.
1943 Proc. IRE 31 448/1 The simple circuit of Fig. 14(a)..is readily recognized as a lumped capacitance associated with a single-turn inductor. At frequencies up to several hundreds of megacycles such a resonator is quite practical.
2001 S. Hong Wireless i. 3 Hertz's receiver, which he called a resonator, was a circular wire with a tiny spark gap.
b. In full cavity resonator. A waveguide which is capable of containing electromagnetic fields having particular frequencies of oscillation, and of exchanging electrical energy with them (used esp. for the amplification and detection of microwaves); a system with similar properties, such as a length of coaxial line.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > radio wave > microwave > [noun] > amplification
cavity resonator1936
maser1955
masing1966
masering1977
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > radar apparatus > cavity resonator
resonant cavity1831
cavity resonator1936
1936 Proc. IRE 24 1320 All of these terminals may act as more or less sharply resonant systems... They may..be thought of as electromagnetic analogues of the Helmholtz resonator.]
1936 Proc. IRE 24 1324 A cylindrical resonator attached to the hollow tube system.
1943 Proc. IRE 31 447/2 The flexibility of the Klystron is seriously limited by the fact that cavity resonators are permanently attached to the grids and thus form an integral part of the tube.
1950 Physical Rev. 79 696/1 A capacitatively loaded coaxial-line resonator.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) II. 577/2 Coaxial cavity resonators are often used as wavemeters, particularly for lower than microwave frequencies.
2000 J. McFall tr. K. Wille Physics of Particle Accelerators v. 152 Waveguides are preferred as resonators and to conduct the beam, since they have low losses and can deliver very high power.
4. gen. An object or system which resonates (in any other sense).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > [noun] > all-absorbing body > Planck's law > model
resonator1897
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > [noun] > emission or diffusion > that which radiates
radiator1811
resonator1897
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > vibration or oscillation > frequency > resonance > that which activates
resonator1959
1897 Abstr. Physical Papers Foreign Sources (Physical Soc.) 3 356 Next a resonator of a perfectly-conducting material is imagined to be introduced. This resonator, while absorbing energy from the incident radiation and radiating it again without loss, will, in general, change the character of the radiation.
1914 J. H. Jeans Rep. Radiation & Quantum Theory ii. 9 Planck..supposed that the emission and absorption were accomplished by ‘resonators’ of perfectly definite periods.
1949 A. Koestler Insight & Outlook p. ix A direct translation into psychological terms of the theory of memory traces as selective resonator systems.
1959 E. Pulgram Introd. Spectrogr. Speech vii. 55 This effect of sympathetic vibration is called resonance, and the object activated by it is a resonator.
2000 Scootering 5 Mar. 58/2 Fitted to the manifold is a small ‘boost bottle’, which is basically a resonator chamber that Harry has shown to improve mid-range throttle response.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.1864