electric arc
1
5.4
- noun
- /ɪˈlɛktrɪk ɑrk/
- Specialized
:
arco eléctrico
- In laboratories near Fontainebleau, fly ash is fed into an electric arc furnace equipped with a graphite electrode.
- electric arc furnace
- electric arc melts
- electric arc steel
The steel used to make nuclear submarines and parts for nuclear power stations is made by Sheffield Forge Masters, once again in electric arc furnaces.
- The steel used to make nuclear submarines and parts for nuclear power stations is made by Sheffield Forge Masters, once again in electric arc furnaces.
Examples
-
More recently, he modified the electric-arc process for the production of carbon nanotubes and demonstrated for the first time a bundle of 0.4 nm nanotubes.
Academic text (2005) -
Light is produced by an electric arc passing through combined vapors of mercury and sodium.
-
Shifts towards electric arc furnaces in steel production, for example, served to increase electricity use.
Academic text (1991) -
High voltages can exceed the insulation capabilities of equipment and cause dangerous electric arcs.
Academic text (2004) -
J.H. Stewart was selling their semi-automatic electric arc lamp, while across the page was Newton.
Blog text (1) -
Little electric arcs crackle as the baton makes her writhe in pain.
Fiction book (1991) -
The steel used to make nuclear submarines and parts for nuclear power stations is made by Sheffield Forge Masters, once again in electric arc furnaces.
-
Wild fingers of blue-white electric arcs dance in a steel canyon formed by two tractor trailers, parked side by side in the back lot of an all-night truck stop.
Fiction book (1991) -
By scraping the rod against the steel, I was able to strike an electric arc.
-
High voltages can exceed the insulation capabilities of equipment and cause dangerous electric arcs.
Synonyms
24
7.3
A bright, hot flow of electricity through air like lightning
1
4.2
A sudden flow of electricity that makes a spark or flash
1
5.2
A flow of electricity through a gas that makes light or a spark
How Bright
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'electric' (relating to electricity) modifying 'arc' (an electric discharge producing light and heat). There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift—the phrase is compositional and follows a straightforward noun-modifier pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Electric arc comes from the image of a bright, curved bridge of electricity that jumps between two metal points. The word electric means power from electricity and arc means a curved line or bridge, so an electric arc is 'a bright flow of electricity' that makes strong light and heat, like the spark you see in welding or lightning.