spark gap
1
7.8
- noun
- Specialized
:
espacio de chispa
- By adjusting the distance of the spark gap, you can control the strength of the electrical spark.
Examples
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Moving the electrodes closer together would reduce the spark gap and increase the electric field potential between the electrodes, allowing a spark to form.
Blog text (2) -
So on this side, can you see we have these weird kind of spark gaps thing, but you're not going to see it now.
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The switch consists of a spark gap, which we just heard.
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The switch consists of a spark gap which we just heard.
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These are spark gaps that are normally open circuit.
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The spark gap in a car is plasma.
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It had a wide drum where you put your original on one side, where it was read by a photocell, and a special mimeograph stencil with conductive backing on the other side got "cut" by some kind of spark-gap device.
Blog text (19) -
The spark gap allows electricity to jump between the two electrodes, creating a discharge.
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In many electrical devices, the spark gap serves as a safety feature to manage high-voltage discharges.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun-noun composition 'spark' + 'gap' directly conveys a gap where sparks occur; a learner who knows 'spark' (tiny flash/discharge) and 'gap' (space/opening) can infer it denotes a space or device allowing a spark to jump. Although it's a technical term in electrical contexts, the meaning is compositional and therefore accessible to a B1 learner familiar with the constituent words.
Etymology
Spark gap comes from the simple picture of a small empty space where a spark can 'jump' between two metal points, the gap being the open space between them. That's why the name means a device that lets or controls a spark and so controls sudden bursts of electricity.