a source of light or other radiation that can be considered to have negligible dimensions
point source in American English
noun
Physics & Optics
a source of radiation sufficiently distant compared to its length and width that it can be considered as a point
Word origin
[1900–05]This word is first recorded in the period 1900–05. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Young Turk, burnout, cathode-ray tube, hormone, internship
Examples of 'point source' in a sentence
point source
For trunk movements to benefit from a transfer from road to rail would require volume and a clear point-to-point source and terminus.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
To the naked eye it is clear that the nebula is not a star; instead of a point source it appears as a fuzzy patch.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
As the tsunami travels, its energy slowly dissipates, but at a far slower rate than waves that are caused by a point source.