Definition

1. Noun:
   • An electronic pulse counter: A device or circuit that counts electrical pulses, especially those occurring at a very high frequency where individual pulses cannot be recorded separately by standard means.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The physicist used a scaler to measure the radiation levels from the sample.
  • In the experiment, the output from the detector was fed directly into a scaler.
  • Modern digital scalers can handle incredibly high pulse rates.

Advanced Usage

• "Frequency scaler": A specific type of scaler used to divide down a high-frequency signal to a lower, countable frequency.

  • The frequency scaler reduced the 10 MHz signal to 1 kHz for the counter.

• "Preset scaler": A scaler that can be set to trigger an output or reset after counting a predetermined number of pulses.

  • The preset scaler was configured to sound an alarm after 10,000 counts.

Variants and Related Words

• Scale (verb): To change the size or proportion of something. (Note: This is a different, more common word. The noun is specifically related to counting pulses).
• Scaling (noun): The process of counting pulses with a scaler.
  • The scaling of the neutron flux was performed automatically.

Synonyms

• Pulse counter
• Digital counter (in specific contexts)
• Rate meter (when configured to measure count rate over time)

Related Phrases

• To feed into a scaler: To connect a signal source to a scaler for counting.

  • The Geiger tube's output was fed into a scaler.

• Scaler output: The result or signal produced by a scaler after counting.

  • The scaler output indicated 5,200 pulses per second.

Noun

1. an electronic pulse counter used to count pulses that occur too rapidly to be recorded individually