Skip to content
    Physics A-Level

    Collimator

    What Collimator means in Physics A-Level, as defined for AQA, OCR.

    Definitions of Collimator

    Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.

    Check what you remember

    Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Collimator in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.

    Reference: AQA

    A thick lead block pierced by many narrow parallel channels that absorbs oblique gamma photons so only near-parallel photons reach the crystal.
    AQA · Gamma camera (A-level only) (study guide)
    A lead block with parallel holes that admits only near-parallel gamma rays, so each point on the detector maps to a known direction.
    OCR · Diagnostic methods in medicine (study guide)

    Topics that use Collimator

    Related terms

    Using Collimator in the exam

    Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.

    Practise Physics questions

    Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.

    Start free

    A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge

    All Physics A-Level terms