Device for controlling unwanted motion of a spring-mounted vehicle. On an automobile, the springs act as a cushion between the axles and the body and reduce the shocks produced by a rough road surface. Since some combinations of road surface and car speed may result in excessive up-and-down motion of the car body, shock absorbers—which today are hydraulic devices that oppose both compression and stretching of the springs—slow down and reduce the magnitude of these vibratory motions. Seealso damping.

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In high energy physics experiments, an absorber is a block of material used to absorb some of the energy of an incident particle. Absorbers can be made of a variety of materials, depending on the purpose; lead and liquid hydrogen are common choices.

Most absorbers are used as part of a detector.

A more recent use for absorbers is for ionization cooling, as in the International Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment.

In solar power, the most important part of the collector takes up the heat of the solar radiation through a medium (water + antifreeze). This is heated and circulates between the collector and the storage tank. A high degree of efficiency is achieved by using black absorbers or, even better, through selective coating.

In sunscreen, ingredients which absorb UVA/UVB rays, such as avobenzone and octyl methoxycinnamate, are known as absorbers. They are contrasted with physical "blockers" of UV radiation such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.