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📡 Regular increase ❤️ Rhythmic beat ⚡ Brief signal change
pulsation

pulsation

1 5.9
A regular rising and falling in strength, like sound or light
  • noun
  • /ˌpʌlˈseɪʃən/
translation icon : pulsación
  • The lamp emitted a soft pulsation of light, creating a calming atmosphere in the room.
  • pulsation period
  • stellar pulsations

So this now is orange light thermotherapy and T Sonic pulsations.

Examples

  • The period of pulsation of a star can be compared to the notes produced on an organ pipe.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The pulsation corresponds exactly to that blue light.

    Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)

  • Their periods of pulsation range from about half a day to several weeks.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The pulsation thus provides us with a means of probing the entire star.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The field strength is estimated from the very small slowdown rate of the radio pulsation.

    Academic text (2006)

  • When we have observed the pulsation period precisely, we can deduce the average sound speed throughout the star.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The most precisely measured property of a pulsating star is its period of pulsation.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Movement emphasizes the interweaving of pattern, rhythm, pulsation, music, and dance.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Meanwhile, astrophysicists would build up a database of stellar variability: starspots, flares, pulsation.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Consequently, teachers should consider interweaving mathematics with patterns, rhythm, pulsation, music, and movement—all part of the African American cultural experience.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

wave
vspulsation
336 3.8

A period when something increases suddenly and affects many people, for example very hot weather

denotes steady regular rises and falls rather than a single sudden period
oscillation
vspulsation
  • Specialized
6 7.0

One complete back-and-forth movement, like a pendulum swing

focuses on recurring increases and decreases rather than single physical swings
pulsus
vspulsation
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A beat you can feel in your wrist or neck when the heart pushes blood

refers to recurring increases and decreases generally, not a felt arterial beat
pulsatility
vspulsation
  • Specialized
8.5

A regular rise and fall in blood flow, pressure, or hormone release

is a recurring increase and decrease in strength or quantity
regular recurrence
vspulsation
3.6

A pattern where something happens again at fixed times

involves repeated rises and falls in strength or amount not just timing

How Pulsing

surge
132 4.2
to throb
8 3.1
pulsation
1 5.9
to flutter
8 4.4
flicker
41 3.9

Surface Forms

pulsation singular
pulsations plural

Morphology

pulsation = pulsate (semi-transparent) = pulse + ate + ion

The form clearly builds on the verb 'pulsate', but the abstract quantitative sense is more specialized than a straightforward everyday derivation.

Etymology

Pulsation comes from the Latin word pulsare 'to beat' and is from the same root as the common word pulse, so a pulsation is a regular rise and fall or repeated 'beat' you might notice in sound, light, or pressure.