tracer, detectable substance added to a chemical, biological, or physical system to follow its process or to study distribution of the substance in the system. Tracer dyes have long been used to follow the flow of underground streams. Incendiary rounds included at intervals in a belt of machine-gun bullets make the paths of the bullets visible. In scientific work, the use of tracers has increased and, because of the sensitivity of modern methods, has helped solve many problems. Particularly effective modern methods utilize isotopic tracers. See isotopic tracer.