1. A vacuum tube device that detects and amplifies light by converting photons into electrical signals through a series of electron multiplication stages.
Usage: technical; physics; electronics

Examples

• The photomultiplier in the spectrometer detects very faint light signals from the sample.
• Photomultipliers are essential components in medical imaging devices like PET scanners.
• The telescope's photomultiplier tube amplified the weak starlight for better observation.
• Scientists use photomultipliers to measure fluorescence in laboratory experiments.
• The photomultiplier's sensitivity makes it ideal for detecting single photons in quantum experiments.