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heterodyne Definition

hetero·dyne (-dīn′)

adjective

designating or of the combination of two different radio frequencies to produce beats whose frequencies are equal to the sum or difference of the original frequencies

Etymology: hetero- + dyne

intransitive verb -·dyned′, -·dyn′·ing

to combine two different frequencies so as to produce beats

heterodyne Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • detector: On a heterodyne bat detector the calls are a machine-gun like series of regular clicks for bursts of 5 to 10 seconds.
  • instrument: The technology can also be used for study of near-Earth objects using high frequency heterodyne instruments for molecular line detection.