Microphotometer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An instrument used to measure the intensity of light transmitted through or reflected from microscopic specimens for quantitative analysis
2. A device designed to quantitatively assess the optical density or brightness of small-scale images or materials at microscopic levels
3. An apparatus employed to gauge the amount of light absorbed or emitted by tiny samples under magnification, facilitating precise photometric study

Etymology: Microphotometer is a compound built in English from two Greek-derived elements. The first, "micro-", comes from Greek "mīkrós", meaning small, and the second part is the photometer, an instrument for measuring light. Put together, the name describes a photometer adapted for very small areas of a specimen. The photometer half traces back to Greek "phôs", meaning light, which gave the combining form "photo-", and to Greek "métron", meaning measure, which became "-meter" through French "-mètre". So the word simply names a measuring tool for light, shrunk to the scale of a tiny sample. Because the word is a transparent compound, its history is essentially its parts. Its meaning follows directly from them: the apparatus takes readings from minute spots rather than from a whole field of view.

Synonyms: microdensitometer, microscope photometer