This page gathers the 104 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Electrical”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples.
- -or suffix Appended to the names of members of classes of components, especially those that have an extensive property name of the same root suffixed…
- 0 noun The off or low bit state.
- absorption noun The retaining of electrical energy for a short time after it has been introduced to the dielectric.
- abvolt noun A unit of electrical potential equal to one hundred millionth of a volt (10⁻⁸ volts), used in the centimeter-gram-second system of units.
- abwatt noun A unit of electrical power equal to one ten-millionth of a watt (10⁻⁷ watts), used in the centimeter-gram-second system of units.
- air cell noun An electrochemical cell that uses air as a terminal, such as the metal-air electrochemical cell.
- antimetric adj The converse of symmetric in electrical network theory, especially filter theory. A network where the input and output image impedances are…
- arc fault noun An undesired and uncontrolled electric arc from one conductor through the air (or other gas) to a conductor at ground potential or a…
- arc-fault circuit interrupter noun A type of circuit breaker that detects signs of potentially-dangerous arcing on downstream wiring and shuts off power to the affected…
- belted cable noun A 3-phase power cable whose conductors are bunched together and isolated with oil-impregnated insulating paper.
- biased adj On which an electrical bias is applied.
- black start noun The process of restoring an electric power station or part of an electric grid to operation without relying on the external electric power…
- booster noun A motor-generator set used for voltage regulation in direct current electrical power circuits.
- bounceless adj That does not require debouncing.
- breaker noun Ellipsis of circuit breaker.
- bushing noun A lining for an opening through which a conductor passes, providing insulation and mechanical protection for the conductor.
- combinational logic noun A form of digital circuit logic where the current outputs are entirely a function of the current inputs, without having a memory of…
- connector noun A device (or, more precisely, a mating pair of devices, often a plug and a socket) for connecting together two wires, cables, or hoses…
- converter noun A device that changes voltage or frequency, for example one that converts alternating current to direct current.
- cross-bonding noun A method to connect power cable by crossing the return conductors between phases to increase cable current rating and reduce electrical…
- daisy chain noun Several electrical or electronic devices linked in series by their data or power connections, or both.
- detection noun The act or process of finding or detecting an electrical signal in a carrier wave.
- directivity noun A measure of the performance of an antenna compared to an isotropic antenna; the ratio of the maximum value of radiation intensity to the…
- disconnector noun A switching device used to open an electric circuit when there is no current through it. They are used to isolate a part of an electrical…
- discrete adj Having separate electronic components, such as individual diodes, transistors and resistors, as opposed to integrated circuitry.
- downstrike noun A (usually unintended) branch of current that arcs downward to ground.
- dual-frequency adj Able to operate on two different electrical frequencies.
- dwell noun A planned delay in a timed control program.
- dwell time noun The amount of time that an antenna beam spends on a target.
- electrogyro noun A unit that works first as a motor, taking energy from an electrical supply and converting it into kinetic energy which is stored in…
- essential prime implicant noun A prime implicant on a Karnaugh map which "covers" at least one 1 which is not covered by any other prime implicant.
- feeder station noun A facility that takes power from the national grid and feeds it to overhead electrification lines on a railway.
- field coil noun An electromagnet, consisting of a coil of wire through which a current flows, used to generate a magnetic field in an electromagnetic…
- first-order hold noun A mathematical model of the practical reconstruction of sampled signals that could be done by a conventional digital-to-analog converter…
- Fourier transform noun A particular integral transform that when applied to a function of time (such as a signal), converts the function to one that plots the…
- fuse noun A device to prevent excessive overcurrent from overload or short circuit in an electrical circuit, containing a component that melts and…
- geothermy noun The process and practice of harvesting heat produced by the Earth to be used as an energy source.
- grounding noun The interconnecting metal chassis or frame of a device, appliance, machine, or metal raceway via a designated conductor to earth at the…
- helping hand noun A jig used to help solder wires and electronics, consisting of a weighted base, a pair of adjustable arms ending in crocodile clips (the…
- home run noun A connection from a central distribution point or circuit breaker to a destination.
- hotel load noun The electrical load caused by all systems on a vehicle (especially a marine vessel or a truck) other than propulsion.
- hourly rating noun A measure of the maximum output, usually expressed in horsepower, that can be obtained from the motors of an electric locomotive for a…
- immunisation noun The process of immunising signalling and traction power supplies so they don't interfere with each other.
- implicant noun On a Karnaugh map: a set of ones (whose quantity is a power of two) which are related by adjacency (i.e., the set is connected, if the…
- integration time noun Of an electronic system, the period of time in which a noisy signal is averaged so as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.
- inverter noun A power inverter.
- junction box noun A box through which the main conductors of a system of electric distribution pass, and where connection is made with branch circuits or to…
- K-factor noun A measurement of how well a power transformer can handle harmonic distortion.
- line conductor noun A wire or cable that transports electrical current from the power supply to the consumer, usually color-coded with a brown or black casing.
- live conductor noun Any conductor carrying electrical current.
- load noun The electrical current or power delivered by a device.
- load bank noun A piece of electrical test equipment used to simulate an electrical load, to test an electric power source without connecting it to its…
- load factor noun The mean load over a given time period divided by the peak load occurring during the same time period, providing a measure of how…
- lost neutral noun A dangerous situation where the neutral wire in a split-phase power system becomes broken or disconnected, forcing all electrical current…
- lug noun A device for terminating an electrical conductor to facilitate the mechanical connection; to the conductor it may be crimped to form a cold…
- mercury arc rectifier noun A rectifier which converts alternating current to direct current, using a cathode tube with a pool of liquid mercury. Now superseded by…
- Miller effect noun The increase in the equivalent input capacitance of an inverting voltage amplifier due to amplification of the effect of capacitance…
- nacelle noun The part between the rotor and tower of a wind turbine.
- negative logic noun The use of the higher(positive) voltage level to represent the Boolean value 0 and the lower voltage(negative) level to represent the…
- neutral conductor noun A wire or cable that returns electrical current from the consumer to the power supply, usually color-coded with a blue or white casing.
- neutral section noun A dead section of overhead line for supplying power to trains between two live sections, used to separate two power supplies, different…
- non-essential prime implicant noun On a Karnaugh map: a prime implicant which does not cover any 1 which cannot covered by some other prime implicant.
- omnidirectional adj Having a ring-shaped radiation pattern, with equal radiation in all azimuthal directions.
- or conj A logic gate to implement inclusive or.
- output noun The amount of power produced by a particular system.
- phase noun In a polyphase electrical power system, one of the power-carrying conductors, or the alternating current carried by it.
- pigtail verb To connect wires of a circuit by means of a short additional wire.
- pigtailed adj Connected by means of a short additional wire.
- positive logic noun The use of the higher voltage level to represent the Boolean value 1 and the lower voltage level to represent the Boolean value 0. For…
- prime implicant noun A group of related 1's (implicant) on a Karnaugh map which is not subsumed by any other implicant in the same map. Equivalently (in terms…
- propagation constant noun The change underdone by the amplitude and phase of an electromagnetic wave as it travels in a certain direction.
- propagation time noun In a digital circuit, the amount of time required for a signal or wave to travel from one point of a transmission medium to another.
- proximity effect noun A condition when a power cable carrying electric current which is non-uniformly distributed due to the presence of other power cable or…
- pull-up resistor noun A resistor that is connected between a signal and a positive voltage supply in a circuit to ensure that the signal is at a defined logic…
- regenerative braking noun A form of braking used on some electric vehicles in conjunction with the main braking system, where kinetic energy from braking is…
- selsyn noun A synchro whose currents are used directly to drive a receiver synchro that rotates in unison with the synchro transmitter.
- sequential logic noun A form of digital circuit logic where the current outputs depend not only on the current inputs, but also on a memory of past inputs and…
- sheath noun The insulating outer cover of an electrical cable.
- short circuit noun A usually unintentional connection of low resistance or impedance in a circuit such that excessive and often damaging current flows in it.
- signal processing noun A subfield of electrical engineering focusing on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing signals, such as sound, images, potential fields…
- single-phasing noun The abnormal operation of a three-phase machine when its supply is changed by the accidental opening of one conductor.
- slab line noun A central conductor surrounded by two planar ground slabs.
- sleeve noun A double tube of copper into which the ends of bare wires are pushed so that when the tube is twisted an electrical connection is made. The…
- spade noun A device for terminating an electrical conductor resembling a small spade.
- spaghetti noun Electrical insulating tubing or electrical wiring.
- split-phase power noun A type of electrical power distribution system using two line wires connected to the ends of a distribution transformer and a grounded…
- subfeed noun A part of an electricity or antenna feed.
- switchboard noun A large piece of power-distribution equipment that directs electricity to multiple loads.
- switchgear noun A device used to control, meter, protect, and regulate electronics as part of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.
- synchro noun A type of rotary electrical transformer that is used for measuring the angle of a rotating machine such as an antenna platform. In its…
- T wave noun Synonym of T-ray.
- T-ray noun An electromagnetic wave with a frequency intermediate between, and sharing the properties of, short radio waves and long infrared waves…
- tail noun Synonym of pigtail (“a short length of twisted electrical wire”).
- tap noun A connection made to an electrical or fluid conductor without breaking it; a tapping.
- tapping noun A connection made to some point between the end terminals of a transformer coil or other component.
- time switch noun A switch activated automatically at a preset time.
- time-frequency analysis noun A technique that studies a signal in both the time and frequency domains simultaneously, using various time-frequency representations.
- transformer noun A static device that transfers electric energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling; primarily used to transfer energy between…
- traveller noun One of the wires connecting the two members of a pair of three-way switches.
- uninterruptible power supply noun A device or system that almost instantaneously provides emergency power in the case that main power fails.
- wild adj Of unregulated and varying frequency.
- winding noun A length of wire wound around the armature of an electric motor or the core of an electrical transformer.
- xor noun A logic gate that implements "exclusive or".
- yoke noun Originally, a metal piece connecting the poles of a magnet or electromagnet; later, a part of magnetic circuit (such as in a generator or…