See T-ray on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "terahertz",
"3": "t(erahertz)"
},
"expansion": "Initialism of t(erahertz)",
"name": "initialism"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "coined"
},
"expansion": "coined",
"name": "glossary"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Initialism of t(erahertz) + ray, modelled after X-ray. The term was coined in Bell Labs in the United States in the mid-1990s.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "T-rays",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"head": "T-ray"
},
"expansion": "T-ray (plural T-rays)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English exocentric compounds",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Electrical engineering",
"orig": "en:Electrical engineering",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Electromagnetism",
"orig": "en:Electromagnetism",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
16,
21
],
[
210,
215
],
[
307,
312
]
],
"ref": "1996 September, Daniel M. Mittleman, Rune H[ylsberg] Jacobsen, Martin C. Nuss, “T-ray Imaging”, in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, volume 2, number 3, New York, N.Y.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-13, page 679:",
"text": "This terahertz \"T-ray\" technology combines imaging, real-time acquisition of terahertz waveforms and advanced signal processing techniques to obtain far-infrared images of objects and materials. In many cases, T-Ray^([sic]) images can also distinguish chemical compositions of the object. These features of T-ray imaging have generated interest in commercial applications in diverse areas as moisture analysis, quality control of plastic parts, packaging inspection, and trace gas analysis and monitoring.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
27,
32
],
[
27,
33
],
[
181,
186
],
[
181,
187
],
[
477,
482
]
],
"ref": "2000 July 1, Robin McKie, “T-rays take over from X-rays”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2014-05-09:",
"text": "Military officials believe T-rays could pinpoint the chemical constituents of anti-personnel mines, and spot terrorists carrying explosives into airports. Doctors are interested in T-rays because they are less damaging to living tissue than X-rays. Terahertz radiation is slightly more energetic than that of microwave ovens, and slightly less energetic than the infra-red light emitted by TV remote controls. […] Scientists are designing devices that can exploit the power of T-ray detection.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
21,
27
],
[
248,
254
],
[
372,
378
]
],
"ref": "2007 August, Derek Abbott, Xi-Cheng Zhang, “Scanning the Issue: T-Ray Imaging, Sensing, and Retection”, in Proceedings of the IEEE, volume 95, number 8, New York, N.Y.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-03-24, page 1511, column 1:",
"text": "A useful property of T-rays is that dry, nonpolar, and nonmetallic substances such as paper, cardboard, and plastics are transparent in these^([sic – meaning this]) frequency band. As this includes many packaging materials, the implication is that T-rays have potential applications in quality control and security. The content of packages can be noninvasively probed and T-rays can produce a molecular fingerprint to identify the contents.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
308,
313
],
[
610,
615
],
[
610,
616
]
],
"ref": "2012 May 16, “Milestone for Wi-fi with ‘T-rays’”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 2023-10-14:",
"text": "Researchers in Japan have smashed the record for wireless data transmission in the terahertz band, an uncharted part of the electro-magnetic spectrum. The data rate is 20 times higher than the best commonly used wi-fi standard. […] The research, published in Electronics Letters, adds to the idea that this \"T-ray\" band could offer huge swathes of bandwidth for data transmission. The band lies between the microwave and far-infrared regions of the spectrum, and is currently completely unregulated by telecommunications agencies. […] Until recently, the technology required both to generate and detect these \"T-rays\" has been too bulky, costly or power-hungry to offer a plausible alternative to existing devices tucked within smartphones or wi-fi routers. That looks set to change; in November electronic component firm ROHM demonstrated a 1.5Gb/s (1.5 billion bits per second) transfer rate at a frequency of 300GHz.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves, generally in the 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz) band of frequencies."
],
"id": "en-T-ray-en-noun-Qf7ZJnKF",
"links": [
[
"electrical engineering",
"electrical engineering"
],
[
"electromagnetism",
"electromagnetism"
],
[
"electromagnetic wave",
"electromagnetic wave"
],
[
"frequency",
"frequency"
],
[
"intermediate",
"intermediate#Adjective"
],
[
"sharing",
"share#Verb"
],
[
"properties",
"property#Noun"
],
[
"short",
"short#Adjective"
],
[
"radio wave",
"radio wave"
],
[
"long",
"long#Adjective"
],
[
"infrared",
"infrared#Adjective"
],
[
"waves",
"wave#Noun"
],
[
"terahertz",
"terahertz"
],
[
"THz",
"THz"
],
[
"band",
"band#Noun"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(electrical engineering, electromagnetism, also attributive, chiefly in the plural) An electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves, generally in the 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz) band of frequencies."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "T-wave"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"in-plural"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"electrical",
"electrical-engineering",
"electricity",
"electromagnetism",
"energy",
"engineering",
"natural-sciences",
"physical-sciences",
"physics"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "raig T"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves",
"word": "terahertsiaalto"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Bell Labs",
"International Telecommunication Union"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈtiːˌɹeɪ/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav.ogg"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈtiˌɹeɪ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-T-ray.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav.ogg"
}
],
"word": "T-ray"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "terahertz",
"3": "t(erahertz)"
},
"expansion": "Initialism of t(erahertz)",
"name": "initialism"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "coined"
},
"expansion": "coined",
"name": "glossary"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Initialism of t(erahertz) + ray, modelled after X-ray. The term was coined in Bell Labs in the United States in the mid-1990s.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "T-rays",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"head": "T-ray"
},
"expansion": "T-ray (plural T-rays)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English coinages",
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English exocentric compounds",
"English initialisms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English noun-noun compound nouns",
"English nouns",
"English terms with quotations",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"en:Electrical engineering",
"en:Electromagnetism"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
16,
21
],
[
210,
215
],
[
307,
312
]
],
"ref": "1996 September, Daniel M. Mittleman, Rune H[ylsberg] Jacobsen, Martin C. Nuss, “T-ray Imaging”, in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, volume 2, number 3, New York, N.Y.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-13, page 679:",
"text": "This terahertz \"T-ray\" technology combines imaging, real-time acquisition of terahertz waveforms and advanced signal processing techniques to obtain far-infrared images of objects and materials. In many cases, T-Ray^([sic]) images can also distinguish chemical compositions of the object. These features of T-ray imaging have generated interest in commercial applications in diverse areas as moisture analysis, quality control of plastic parts, packaging inspection, and trace gas analysis and monitoring.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
27,
32
],
[
27,
33
],
[
181,
186
],
[
181,
187
],
[
477,
482
]
],
"ref": "2000 July 1, Robin McKie, “T-rays take over from X-rays”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2014-05-09:",
"text": "Military officials believe T-rays could pinpoint the chemical constituents of anti-personnel mines, and spot terrorists carrying explosives into airports. Doctors are interested in T-rays because they are less damaging to living tissue than X-rays. Terahertz radiation is slightly more energetic than that of microwave ovens, and slightly less energetic than the infra-red light emitted by TV remote controls. […] Scientists are designing devices that can exploit the power of T-ray detection.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
21,
27
],
[
248,
254
],
[
372,
378
]
],
"ref": "2007 August, Derek Abbott, Xi-Cheng Zhang, “Scanning the Issue: T-Ray Imaging, Sensing, and Retection”, in Proceedings of the IEEE, volume 95, number 8, New York, N.Y.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2025-03-24, page 1511, column 1:",
"text": "A useful property of T-rays is that dry, nonpolar, and nonmetallic substances such as paper, cardboard, and plastics are transparent in these^([sic – meaning this]) frequency band. As this includes many packaging materials, the implication is that T-rays have potential applications in quality control and security. The content of packages can be noninvasively probed and T-rays can produce a molecular fingerprint to identify the contents.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
308,
313
],
[
610,
615
],
[
610,
616
]
],
"ref": "2012 May 16, “Milestone for Wi-fi with ‘T-rays’”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 2023-10-14:",
"text": "Researchers in Japan have smashed the record for wireless data transmission in the terahertz band, an uncharted part of the electro-magnetic spectrum. The data rate is 20 times higher than the best commonly used wi-fi standard. […] The research, published in Electronics Letters, adds to the idea that this \"T-ray\" band could offer huge swathes of bandwidth for data transmission. The band lies between the microwave and far-infrared regions of the spectrum, and is currently completely unregulated by telecommunications agencies. […] Until recently, the technology required both to generate and detect these \"T-rays\" has been too bulky, costly or power-hungry to offer a plausible alternative to existing devices tucked within smartphones or wi-fi routers. That looks set to change; in November electronic component firm ROHM demonstrated a 1.5Gb/s (1.5 billion bits per second) transfer rate at a frequency of 300GHz.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves, generally in the 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz) band of frequencies."
],
"links": [
[
"electrical engineering",
"electrical engineering"
],
[
"electromagnetism",
"electromagnetism"
],
[
"electromagnetic wave",
"electromagnetic wave"
],
[
"frequency",
"frequency"
],
[
"intermediate",
"intermediate#Adjective"
],
[
"sharing",
"share#Verb"
],
[
"properties",
"property#Noun"
],
[
"short",
"short#Adjective"
],
[
"radio wave",
"radio wave"
],
[
"long",
"long#Adjective"
],
[
"infrared",
"infrared#Adjective"
],
[
"waves",
"wave#Noun"
],
[
"terahertz",
"terahertz"
],
[
"THz",
"THz"
],
[
"band",
"band#Noun"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(electrical engineering, electromagnetism, also attributive, chiefly in the plural) An electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves, generally in the 0.1 to 10 terahertz (THz) band of frequencies."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "T-wave"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"in-plural"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"electrical",
"electrical-engineering",
"electricity",
"electromagnetism",
"energy",
"engineering",
"natural-sciences",
"physical-sciences",
"physics"
],
"wikipedia": [
"Bell Labs",
"International Telecommunication Union"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈtiːˌɹeɪ/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/bd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-T-ray.wav.ogg"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈtiˌɹeɪ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-T-ray.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-T-ray.wav.ogg"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "raig T"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves",
"word": "terahertsiaalto"
}
],
"word": "T-ray"
}
Download raw JSONL data for T-ray meaning in All languages combined (7.5kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (074e7de and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.