Etymology From Middle English crakelen, equivalent to crack + -le (frequentative suffix). The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
1
A prolonged, frequent cracking sound; a fizzing, popping sound.
I heard a crackle from the frying pan as I was frying bacon.
There was an annoying crackle during the phone call, due to poor connection.
2 more examples
Then a superincumbent bundle rolled down, with a whisking noise, flames elongated, and bent themselves about with a quiet roar, but no crackle.1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC:
The best clothes which every one put on helped the general effect; it seemed that no lady could sit down without bending a clean starched petticoat, and no gentleman could breathe without a sudden crackle from a stiff shirt-front.1915, Virginia Woolf, The Voyage Out, London: Duckworth & Co., […], →OCLC:
2
Ceramics, Chemistry, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A style of glaze giving the impression of many small cracks.
The Chinese attach great value to their crackle, which, though it looks like damaged glaze, is produced by art; […].1871, Henry George Bohn, A Guide to the Knowledge of Pottery, Porcelain, and Other Objects of Vertu […] , London: G. Bell & sons, page xx:
3
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The fifth derivative of the position vector with respect to time (after velocity, acceleration, jerk, and jounce), i.e. the rate of change of jounce.
4
Synonym of crackling (“crispy rind of roast pork”).
By the look on my face I must have anticipated the joy of the crackle, apparently having come to look forward to the roast pig that appeared only at gatherings such as this. I bet I asked for another piece once I was done.2017, Edgar Maranan, Len Maranan-Goldstein, A Taste of Home: Pinoy Expats and Food Memories:
Etymology From Middle English crakelen, equivalent to crack + -le (frequentative suffix). The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
1
To make a prolonged, frequent cracking sound which sounds like fizzing or popping.
a crackling fire
the unknown ice that crackles underneath them1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
1 more example
He felt the stress and strain of life, its fevers and sweats and wild insurgences—surely this was the stuff to write about! He wanted to glorify the leaders of forlorn hopes, the mad lovers, the giants that fought under stress and strain, amid terror and tragedy, making life crackle with the strength of their endeavor.1908 September – 1909 September, Jack London, chapter XIV, in Martin Eden, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published September 1909, →OCLC, page 117: