conductivityn.
/kɒndʌkˈtɪvɪti/ Physics.
1.
a. Conductive quality; power of conducting heat, electricity, etc.; esp. with reference to its degree.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > transmission of energy > conduction > conductive quality
conductivity1837
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > transmission of heat > [noun] > capacity for
conductivity1837
conductibility1862
conductility1883
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > [noun] > conductive power
conductivity1837
conductibility1862
conductility1883
conductance1885
specific conductance1885
specific conductivity1898
1837 W. Whewell Hist. Inductive Sci. II. x. i. 472 The quantity of heat conducted from a hotter to a colder point is proportional to the excess of heat, modified by the conductivity or conducting power of each substance.
1863 J. Tyndall Heat ix. 237 The melting distance furnished a measure of the conductivity of the bar.
1881 Nature No. 620. 465 Crystalline media possessing different conductivities in different directions.
b. Physiology. The property of nervous and muscular tissue by which it conducts an impulse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > reception or transmission of impulses
reflection1836
irradiation1847
conduction1855
diffusion1859
projection1872
conductivity1881
fusion1892
facilitation1894
reciprocal innervation1896
chemoreception1901
photoreception1902
neurotropism1905
proprioception1906
cheirokinaesthesia1913
schema1920
recruitment1923
conductance1926
volley1928
rectification1941
supersensitivity1949
mechanoreception1958
neurotransmission1961
electroreception1963
phototransduction1972
somatotopy1976
1881 S. P. Thompson Elem. Lessons Electr. & Magn. iii. 187 Little is..yet known of the conditions of conductivity of the matter of the nerves.
1903 Lancet 18 Apr. 1089 When a nerve is divided it will lose its motor conductivity only after the lapse of some time.
1965 J. P. Schadé & D. H. Ford Basic Neurol. ii. ii. 180 Nerve and muscle cells..possess two highly distinctive properties: excitability and conductivity.
2. attributive.
ΚΠ
1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright Telegraphy 267 The wire resistance or conductivity test is obtained by the differential galvanometer, or by Wheatstone's Bridge.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. Conductivity water, water specially purified for use in measuring the electrical conductivity of solutions.
1924 S. R. Roget Dict. Electr. Terms 47/1 Conductivity bridge, a form of Wheatstone's Bridge used for the comparison of low resistances.
1937 Discovery Sept. 284/2 ‘Conductivity water’ —so called, we believe without irony, because it is one of the most perfect electrically insulating media known.
1959 H. Barnes Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. iii. 121 Resistance thermometers and thermistors have been used for temperature measurement and conductivity cells for salinity.
1961 New Scientist 26 Oct. 237/2 Ultra-pure or conductivity water was, until a few years ago, a substance made in small quantities by multiple distillation..mainly for use in research laboratories.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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