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90s Slang You Should Know

induction coil

noun, Electricity.
1.
a transformer for producing high-voltage alternating current from a low-voltage direct current, consisting essentially of two concentric coils with a common soft-iron core, a primary coil with relatively few windings of heavy wire, and a secondary coil with many turns of fine wire. Excitation of the primary coil by rapidly interrupted or variable current induces high voltage in the secondary coil.
Also called Ruhmkorff coil.
Origin of induction coil
1875-1880
First recorded in 1875-80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for induction coil
Historical Examples

  • Reference was made in connection with the electrical ignition of internal-combustion engines (p. 101) to the induction coil.

    How it Works Archibald Williams

  • Does the spark of an induction coil occur at "make" or at "break?"

    Physics Willis Eugene Tower

  • Could you tell me how to make an induction coil for taking shocks?

    Harper's Round Table, May 7, 1895 Various

  • Immediately in front of the ringer magnets is the induction coil.

    Cyclopedia of Telephony & Telegraphy Vol. 1 Kempster Miller

  • It closes the transmitter battery circuit at the same time through the primary of the induction coil.

    Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2 Kempster Miller

  • By this simple illustration we have made an induction coil which may be used for making a high tension jump spark.

    Motors James Slough Zerbe

  • The energy which we can get from a battery and induction coil is not sufficient for any very long distances.

    Autobiography of an Electron Charles R. (Charles Robert) Gibson

  • The arrangement consists in connecting the aerial to an induction coil, and connecting the latter with a ground wire.

    The Boy's Book of New Inventions Harry E. Maule

  • The operations of the transmitter, induction coil and receiver, however, are the same in all telephones.

    Physics Willis Eugene Tower

  • But anyone who wants, any time, can disprove the whole principle of the induction coil.

    Sense from Thought Divide Mark Irvin Clifton
British Dictionary definitions for induction coil

induction coil

noun
1.
a transformer for producing a high voltage from a low voltage. It consists of a cylindrical primary winding of few turns, a concentric secondary winding of many turns, and often a common soft-iron core Sometimes shortened to coil
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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induction coil in Science
induction coil  

  1. An electrical device consisting of a single coil of conductive material, often surrounding a metallic core, designed to establish a strong magnetic field around the coil. Changes in the current flow through the coil cause fluctuations in the magnetic field that induce a voltage across the coil. Induction coils have many applications, especially in circuits that tune to signals of specific frequencies, as in radios. The ability of an induction coil to induce a voltage is called inductance, and is measured in henrys. Compare capacitor.

  2. A type of transformer that changes a low-voltage direct current to a high-voltage alternating current. Induction coils are used for many purposes, especially as spark coils for firing spark plugs in automobile engines and starting oil burners.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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