electrical field

True there is, in many cases, something to boast about, but the way in which many of our otherwise estimable contemporaries in the electrical field talk about themselves, their energy, progress, and enterprise, makes us smile, sadly smile, to see such excellent, well-conducted journals depart so far from the paths of modesty.

1889 March 15, The Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review, volume 24, number 590, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 291, column 2:

Philip Dodd is among the best known men in the electrical field.

1913 September, “Personals.”, in Electrical Engineering, volume 45, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 418, column 2:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see electrical, field.


surface discharge

A partial discharge that appears at the boundary of different insulators when there are changes in the electric field.


partial discharge inception voltage

en-noun

partial discharge inception voltage (uncountable)

The lowest voltage where partial discharge starts to occur.


partial discharge extinction voltage

partial discharge extinction voltage (uncountable)

The highest voltage where partial discharge starts to cease to occur.


streamer discharge

A type of high voltage transient electrical discharge which forms at the surface of a conductive electrode in an insulating medium.


electrical polarity

Representative of electric potential at the ends of a circuit which consists of positive and negative polarities.


charge storage

Electrical polarization in a dielectric material inside electric field which results in the increment of capacitance.


apparent charge

The electric charge used in partial discharge test that if injected between the terminals of the device under test would change the voltage across the terminals by an amount equivalent to the partial discharge event.


Tan Delta test

A test to measure the degree of deterioration of an electrical insulation which is performed at two temperature by applying AC voltage to the test object and measure the total current flow through it, and separating and comparing the reactive and resistance portions of the current passing through it.


oscillating wave test system

oscillating wave test system (uncountable)

A test to identify, evaluate and locate partial discharge faults in cable insulation and accessories.


induced voltage

A voltage produced in an electric circuit from a nearby electric field.


water tree

An electrical treeing phenomenon inside insulation, caused by the presence of water inside buried or water-immersed high voltage cables.


OPD

overcurrent protective device
overcurrent protective device#English

(electricity) Initialism of overcurrent protective device.


dead section

A new glass fibre insulating section will ultimately equip all neutral sections, simplifying maintenance work and greatly reducing the length of dead sections.

1962 March, “Talking of Trains: The future of B.R. a.c. traction”, in Modern Railways, page 148:

electrical engineering
electrical engineering

(rail transport, electrical engineering) Part of a neutral section.


return current

The return current is fed from the transformer to the wheels through brushes on each axle of the motor coach.

1963 March, “The Clacton express electric multiple-units enter service”, in Modern Railways, page 174:

(electrical engineering) The electric current in a circuit which flows back to its source, or to earth.


split-phase power

(electrical engineering) A type of electrical power distribution system using two line wires connected to the ends of a distribution transformer and a grounded neutral wire connected to the center tap of the transformer, allowing loads to be connected between line and neutral and receive the normal line voltage (120 or 240 volts), or between the two opposite-phase line wires and receive twice the normal line voltage (240 or 480 volts).


lost neutral

(electrical engineering) A dangerous situation where the neutral wire in a split-phase power system becomes broken or disconnected, forcing all electrical current to flow directly between the two line wires and exposing loads connected between line and neutral to unstable and potentially-excessive voltages, posing a risk of equipment damage, electrical fire, or electric shock.


ACR

automatic circuit recloser
automatic circuit recloser#English

(electricity) Initialism of automatic circuit recloser.


flashover voltage

flashover voltage (plural flashover voltages)

(electricity) The voltage at which an electric discharge occurs between two electrodes that are separated by an insulator.


acetylenediolate

acetylenediolate (countable and uncountable, plural acetylenediolates)

(organic chemistry) The C₂O₂²⁻ anion produced by deprotonation of acetylenediol; the coordinate base of acetylenediol.


load factor

(electrical engineering) The mean load over a given time period divided by the peak load occurring during the same time period, providing a measure of how efficiently an electric system's capacity is being used.


two-way switch

two-way switch (plural two-way switches)

Named after its two electrical connections.

(US, rare, electricity) A plain type of light switch that can control lights, or other electrical loads, from a single location; a single-throw switch.


two-way switch

Named after its use in pairs to control a load from two locations.

(British, electricity) Commonwealth spelling of (US): three-way switch.


intermediate switch

intermediate switch (plural intermediate switches)

(British, electricity) A light switch with two pairs of two terminals, which can be switched between straight-through or swapped wiring. Typically used as part of a circuit to control a light or other device from three or more locations. (US): four-way switch.


four-way switch

four-way switch (plural four-way switches)

Named after its four electrical connections.


overcurrent protective device

overcurrent protective device (plural overcurrent protective devices)

A ring final circuit starts and finishes at the distribution board, where it is connected to a 30A or 32A overcurrent protective device.

2008, Darrell Locke, Guide to the Wiring Regulations: 17th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations (BS 7671:2008), archived from the original on 2022-07-18, page 88:

(electricity) A device, usually a fuse, polyfuse, or circuit breaker, intended to detect and stop an overcurrent condition.


argention

Suppose that we add such a quantity of silver nitrate as to double the amount of argention after equilibrium has been attained.

1910, James Walker, Introduction to Physical Chemistry, page 330:

(inorganic chemistry, archaic) ionized silver


EaaS

EaaS (countable and uncountable, plural EaaS's or EaaSes)

(electricity, fuel) Initialism of energy-as-a-service.


rolling blackout

rolling blackout (plural rolling blackouts)

Authorities in California warned that the high demand could lead later this afternoon to an emergency order for rolling blackouts, a dreaded term here that brings reminders of widespread blackouts in 2003 during an energy supply crisis.

2006 July 23, Randal C. Archibold, “California Warns of Rolling Blackouts”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(electricity) An intentional disruption of electric service to different areas in a region to conserve power.


volcanic lightning

(volcanology, meteorology) Electrical discharge that occurs during a volcanic eruption, caused by a build-up of static electricity in colliding ejecta (such as ash and debris).


body contact

(electricity) A conductive connection between body and active parts of electrical equipment resulting from a fault.


pseudofinal

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pseudofinal.wav

From pseudo- + final, introduced in a paper by Abetti (1960).

Initial and pseudofinal voltage distributions

2007, Leonard L. Grigsby, Power Systems, pages 11–5:

(electrical engineering) Denoting a kind of steady-state voltage distribution.


power consumption

power consumption (countable and uncountable, plural power consumptions)

(electricity) The amount of power used multiplied by the amount of time, measured either in kilowatt-hours, horsepower-hours, etc.


horsepower-hour

(electricity) A unit of energy equal to the amount of work a horse is capable of delivering during an hour.


terawatt-year

(electricity) A unit of electrical energy equal to that done by one terawatt acting for one year.


mechanical horsepower

mechanical horsepower (countable and uncountable, plural mechanical horsepowers or mechanical horsepower)

mechanical horsepowers (plural)
mechanical horsepower (plural)

(electricity) A nonmetric unit of power approximately equivalent to 745.7 watts.


thermal horsepower

thermal horsepower (countable and uncountable, plural thermal horsepowers or thermal horsepower)

thermal horsepowers (plural)
thermal horsepower (plural)

(electricity) The horsepower of an electric motor, determined by the readings from a thermal-type ammeter.

(electricity) The amount of power a gearbox can convey without overheating when operating continuously for three hours or more; the amount of work that a drive can perform when operating at sea level.


EROI

(economics, electricity) Initialism of energy return on investment.


arc blast

arc blast (countable and uncountable, plural arc blasts)

(electrical engineering) An explosion produced by the extreme heat of an uncontrolled high-energy electric arc.


arc flash

arc flash (countable and uncountable, plural arc flashes)

(electrical engineering) The extremely intense light and heat produced by a high-energy electric arc.


arc fault

(electrical engineering) An undesired and uncontrolled electric arc from one conductor through the air (or other gas) to a conductor at ground potential or a different voltage phase.


arc-fault circuit interrupter

arc-fault circuit interrupter (plural arc-fault circuit interrupters)

(electrical engineering) A type of circuit breaker that detects signs of potentially-dangerous arcing on downstream wiring and shuts off power to the affected branch circuit to reduce the risk of a fire.


biferrocenium

(organic chemistry, in combination) A cation derived from biferrocene.


borocation

A cation with a positive charge on a boron atom.


TLM

TLM (countable and uncountable, plural TLMs)

transmission line matrix
w:Transmission-line matrix method

(electrical engineering)
Initialism of transmission line matrix.

transmission line model
w:transmission line model

(electrical engineering)
Initialism of transmission line model.

transfer length method
w:transfer length method

(electrical engineering)
Initialism of transfer length method.


Wardenclyffe

Wardenclyffe Tower: a tower built by Nikola Tesla, on Long Island, New York state.


chlorotetrafluorosilicate

From chloro- + tetra- + fluoro- + silicate.

(inorganic chemistry) An unusual salt or anion containing silicon bound to four fluorine and one chlorine atoms. SiF₄Cl⁻


Tesla-swap

(automotive) A car which has been electrified by removing its internal combustion engine and fuel system, and replacing it with a battery pack and an electric drive motor salvaged from a Tesla Motors all-electric battery-powered car.

(by extension) A car which has been converted to a battery-electric vehicle by removing its internal combustion engine and fuel system, and replacing it with a battery pack and an electric drive motor.


Tesla-swap

en-verb

Tesla-swap (third-person singular simple present Tesla-swaps, present participle Tesla-swapping, simple past and past participle Tesla-swapped)

Tesla-swaps (present singular third-person)
Tesla-swapping (participle present)
Tesla-swapped (participle past)
Tesla-swapped (past)

(automotive) To convert an internal combustion engine car into an all-electric battery-powered vehicle, by replacing its engine and fuel system with a battery pack and an electric drive motor salvaged from a Tesla Motors all-electric battery-powered car.

(by extension) To convert an internal combustion engine car into a battery-electric vehicle, by replacing its engine and fuel system with a battery pack and an electric drive motor.


globe lightning

en-noun

globe lightning (usually uncountable, plural globe lightnings)


globular lightning

globular lightning (usually uncountable, plural globular lightnings)


belted cable

(electrical engineering) A 3-phase power cable whose conductors are bunched together and isolated with oil-impregnated insulating paper.


cross-linked polyethylene

A form of polyethylene with cross-linking used mainly in building construction and electrical insulating materials.


cross-bonding

(electrical engineering) A method to connect power cable by crossing the return conductors between phases to increase cable current rating and reduce electrical losses on the cable sheath.


cable core

(electricity) Central part or the innermost part of a power cable which carries electric current and is surrounded by various layers of insulation.


proximity effect

(electrical engineering) A condition when a power cable carrying electric current which is non-uniformly distributed due to the presence of other power cable or conductor nearby. This phenomena increases the apparent resistance of the power cable.


SWER

(electricity) Initialism of single-wire earth-return.


SWER

SWER (countable and uncountable, plural SWERs)

single-wire earth-return
single-wire earth-return#English

(electricity) single-wire earth-return electrical system


lightning storm

lightning storm (plural lightning storms)


water treeing

An instance of the water tree phenomenon.


electrochemical equivalent

electrochemical equivalent (plural electrochemical equivalents)

(electrochemistry) The mass of a given chemical element transported by a specific quantity of electricity.


lightning never strikes twice

An allusive shortening of lightning never strikes twice in the same place, usually used figuratively.


en-proverb

lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place

lightning never strikes twice in the same place#English

Alternative form of lightning never strikes twice in the same place

lightning does not strike twice in the same place


time-switch

en-verb

time-switch (third-person singular simple present time-switches, present participle time-switching, simple past and past participle time-switched)

time-switches (present singular third-person)
time-switching (participle present)
time-switched (participle past)
time-switched (past)

(transitive, electrical engineering, uncommon) To activate a switch automatically at a preset time.


first-order hold

en-noun

first-order hold (countable and uncountable, plural first-order holds)

digital-to-analog converter
digital-to-analog converter

(electronics, electrical engineering) A mathematical model of the practical reconstruction of sampled signals that could be done by a conventional digital-to-analog converter and an analog circuit called an integrator.


single-phase

(electricity) Using an alternating current in which all voltages supplied are in the same phase.


single-phase

en-verb

single-phase (third-person singular simple present single-phases, present participle single-phasing, simple past and past participle single-phased)

single-phases (present singular third-person)
single-phasing (participle present)
single-phased (participle past)
single-phased (past)

(electricity, by extension) To use such a current.


low-powered

en-adj

low-powered (comparative lower-powered, superlative lowest-powered)

lower-powered (comparative)
lowest-powered (superlative)

(electricity, electronics) Possessing little power or capacity.


clearance time

en-noun

clearance time (countable and uncountable, plural clearance times)

In Fig. 12.5.6A, for example, a fault occurring at point F is detected by the busbar protection which trips the circuit breaker. It is clear, therefore, that the fault will not be disconnected, except possibly by back-up protection involving a long clearance time.

1995, Electricity Training Association, Institution of Electrical Engineers, Power System Protection, page 50:

The amount of time it takes from the initiation of a process until it is completed.

(electricity, electronics) The amount of time from when a fault is detected to when a circuit is automatically reopened.


time-of-use meter

time-of-use meter (plural time-of-use meters)

(electricity) A device that measures and records the usage of electricity during a prespecified period of the day cumulatively over a meter reading period.


time-of-use rates

(electricity) A dynamic electric rate schedule that adjusts prices that are dependent on peak usage, as based on the time of day and season.


time-varying

(electricity, electronics) Referring to any voltage of a varying time, current or an electromagnetic wave carrying information.


time-frequency analysis

time-frequency representation
time-frequency representation

(electrical engineering, signal processing) A technique that studies a signal in both the time and frequency domains simultaneously, using various time-frequency representations.


signal processing

(electrical engineering) A subfield of electrical engineering focusing on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing signals, such as sound, images, potential fields, seismic signals, altimetry processing, and scientific measurements.


time-frequency representation

time-frequency representation (countable and uncountable, plural time-frequency representations)

(electrical engineering, signal processing) A view of a signal, taken to be a function of time, represented over both time and frequency.


transition time

transition time (countable and uncountable, plural transition times)

(electricity, electronics) The amount of time required for the switch output to settle within a given percentage of the final value following a change in the control input level.


propagation time

propagation time (countable and uncountable, plural propagation times)

(electronics, electrical engineering) In a digital circuit, the amount of time required for a signal or wave to travel from one point of a transmission medium to another.


turn-off time

turn-off time (countable and uncountable, plural turn-off times)

Coordinate term: turn-on time

(electricity) The amount of time between the moment the anode current reaches zero and the moment the reverse voltage due to the practical circuit reaches zero.


turn-on time

turn-on time (countable and uncountable, plural turn-on times)

Coordinate term: turn-off time

(electricity) The amount of time required for a device to change from a forward blocking mode to a forward conduction mode when a gate pulse is applied.


integration time

integration time (countable and uncountable, plural integration times)

signal-to-noise ratio
signal-to-noise ratio

(electrical engineering) Of an electronic system, the period of time in which a noisy signal is averaged so as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.


pull-up resistor

pull-up resistor (plural pull-up resistors)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pull-up resistor.wav

(electrical engineering) A resistor that is connected between a signal and a positive voltage supply in a circuit to ensure that the signal is at a defined logic level.


Debye-Falkenhagen effect

Debye-Falkenhagen effect (plural Debye-Falkenhagen effects)

Named after Peter Debye and Hans Falkenhagen.

The increase in the conductivity of an electrolyte solution when the applied voltage has a very high frequency.


Miller effect

Named after John Milton Miller who discovered the effect.

(electronics, electrical engineering) The increase in the equivalent input capacitance of an inverting voltage amplifier due to amplification of the effect of capacitance between the amplifier's input and output terminals.


let through

en-verb

let through (third-person singular simple present lets through, present participle letting through, simple past and past participle let through)

lets through (present singular third-person)
letting through (participle present)
let through (participle past)
let through (past)

(electricity, of a surge protector) To allow an amount of voltage to pass through to the attached equipment.


spider lightning

One evening while working, Michael Peterson found himself staring at an enormous spider. But Peterson, a remote sensing scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, wasn’t looking at a critter of the eight-legged variety. Instead the form crawling across his screen was a monstrous flash of so-called spider lightning—a twisting network of light stretching hundreds of miles across stormy skies. The events highlighted in this latest study are what’s known as spider lightning. While you may envision lightning as largely vertical, spider lightning races horizontally through the clouds.

2019 August 22, Maya Wei-Haas, “Record-breaking lightning as long as Kansas spotted”, in National Geographic:

Very long flashes of lightning (tens or sometimes hundreds of kilometers long) that travel horizontally across the sky, tapping extensive pools of electrical charge in the clouds, particular once a CG (cloud-to-ground) channel is established.


line drop

(electricity) A drop in voltage between two points of a transmission line.


Jablochkoff candle

Yablochkov candle
Yablochkov candle#English


honeycomb coil

(electricity) A type of coil structure used in electrical wire winding, in order to reduce capacitive effects.


plutonyl

An oxycation of plutonium in the oxidation state +6.


rotary converter

en-noun

rotary converter (plural rotary converters)

It was decided therefore to change over from 25-cycle rotary converters to remotely-controlled substations supplied at 50 cycles, in conformity with the outer area electrification.

1954 April, “Southern Region Power Supply”, in Railway Magazine, pages 221-222:

(electrical engineering, dated) A machine which converts alternating current to direct current, or vice versa.


adder-subtractor

(electrical engineering) A circuit that is capable of adding or subtracting binary numbers.


helioelectricity

(electricity) A form of electric power that is generated or harnessed by the rays of the sun.