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.

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spark gap British  

noun

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

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of spark gap

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spark gap

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

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

This apparatus acts, as a powerful and effective interrupter and takes the place of the spark gap now used in discharging the condensers for setting up electrical waves.

From The Universe a Vast Electric Organism by Warder, George Woodward

With his helix he began attuning the length of his sparks, while the snake-like blue 122 flame hissed and crackled across the “high-efficiency” spark gap.

From The Boy Aviators' Flight for a Fortune by Goldfrap, John Henry

When the electrical current jumps across the spark gap it sets up a momentary current in a set of wires running the length of the corridor and connected with the camera.

From Astounding Stories, July, 1931 by Various