emission spectrum

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

emis′sion spec′trum, [Physics.]

1. Physics the spectrum formed by electromagnetic radiations emitted by a given source, characteristic of the source and the type of excitation inducing the radiations.

• 1885–90

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

emission spectrum noun

1. the continuous spectrum or pattern of bright lines or bands seen when the electromagnetic radiation emitted by a substance is passed into a spectrometer. The spectrum is characteristic of the emitting substance and the type of excitation to which it is subjected
   Compare absorption spectrum