phaser, n.
(ˈfeɪzə(r))
[f. phase v. + -er1.]
a. A device which phases (sense 1).
| 1945 Electronics Mar. 129/1 The phaser used is made up of a variable length of coaxial line folded back on itself. |
b. spec. in Science Fiction. A (usu. hand-held) weapon incorporating a laser beam whose ‘phase’ can supposedly be altered to create different effects (such as stunning, annihilation, etc.) on the target. Orig. from the U.S. television series Star Trek (see trekkie n. 2). Also used transf. of other devices capable of producing laser beams of variable phase.
| 1967 Pop. Sci. Dec. 73/2 The main weaponry of the Enterprise is its banks of ‘ship's phasers’,—artillery-size versions of the hand phasers and phaser pistols carried by the crew. These weapons are, of course, refinements of today's familiar lasers. 1969 New Scientist 2 Jan. 32/3 A Polish team, working under Professor Silvester Kalitsky, may have achieved something similar. However, it is not clear just what method they use to excite their phonon device, which they call a phaser. 1976 Aviation Week & Space Technol. 12 Apr. 50/1 Radio frequency energy is divided into 10 signals, fed into ferrite phasers controlled by [an] electronic beam forming unit before being radiated. 1978 D. Bloodworth Crosstalk xxxiii. 256 The USAAF had brought down the first unmanned plane with a laser, and..had..been thinking in terms of light, chemically-operated versions that could be phased together... ‘Phasers?’ ‘Phasers. Right.’ 1988 N.Y. Times 28 Aug. vii. 18/1 Some fairly overt sex, more talked about than accomplished, and topical references like ‘Set your phasers on stun’. |
c. Mus. A device which alters a sound signal by phasing (*phasing vbl. n. 1 c); also, loosely, a flanger.
| a 1974 in R. E. Runstein Mod. Recording Techniques (1975) v. 171 (heading) Instant phaser specification sheet. 1975 Guitar Nov. 16/4 Maestro market some very good phasers. 1977 Rolling Stone 24 Apr. 31/2 Their usual lineup is triple guitars, bass and drums, with Dunn playing synthesizer, organ and electric piano while working a phaser with his left hand. 1985 Internat. Musician June 25/1 The familiar swirling, ethereal sound that a phaser gives is due to continually varying the phase of an incoming signal and then mixing this back with the original signal causing the interference effects. |