spark gap

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a space between two electrodes, across which a discharge of electricity may take place.

2. the electrodes and the space between, considered as a unit: used in ignition systems.

---

spark gap British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: gap.  the space between two electrodes across which a spark can jump

---

spark gap Scientific  

1. A gap in an otherwise closed electric circuit across which a discharge occurs at a prescribed voltage. The discharge often causes ionization of the surrounding gas and thereby very high temperatures, and can be exploited, as in spark plugs, to ignite engine fuel in a combustion chamber.

---

Etymology

Origin of spark gap

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

It is only upon examination of the spark gap of fact into idea, or material into metaphor that the author is helpless.

From Time Magazine Archive

But by moving the spark gap nearer to or farther from the gun's muzzle, the bullet can be snapped at various points of its trajectory.

From Time Magazine Archive

Professor Elihu Thomson achieves the same result by employing a blast of air thrown on the spark gap.

From Hertzian Wave Wireless Telegraphy by Fleming, John Ambrose

By lengthening the wires between the spark gap and the camera the light is allowed to arrive first.

From Astounding Stories, July, 1931 by Various

The writer has also made experiments with an apparatus designed to study the effect of compressed air round the spark gap.

From Hertzian Wave Wireless Telegraphy by Fleming, John Ambrose