brush discharge

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a type of corona discharge that takes place between two electrodes at atmospheric pressure, characterized by long, branched, luminous streamers of ionized particles.

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brush discharge British  

noun

1. a slightly luminous electrical discharge between points of high charge density when the charge density is insufficient to cause a spark or around sharp points on a highly charged conductor because of ionization of air molecules in their vicinity

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Etymology

Origin of brush discharge

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brush discharge

Suitable electrodes are passed backwards and forwards over the affected parts, a bluish brush discharge taking place between the patient and the electrode.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various

It is well settled that atmospheric electricity can and does flow in currents with light, by experiments in relation to the brush discharge, etc.

From The Philosophy of the Weather And a Guide to Its Changes by Butler, Thomas Belden

It was singular that the "brush discharge" was sometimes most copious when the atmosphere was filled with very fine drift, and not necessarily during dense drift.

From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Mawson, Douglas, Sir

While taking the observations at midnight, he noticed St. Elmo's fire, a "brush discharge" of electricity, on the points of the nephoscope.

From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Mawson, Douglas, Sir

In the latter case a brush discharge is used, and the patient experiences very little physical sensation.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various