flash-overn.
/ˈflaʃˌəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈflæʃˌoʊvər/ An accidental arc discharge from a conductor when its voltage is greater than that which the insulation can withstand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > discharge of electricity > [noun] > discharge arc > accidental
flash-over1892
sparkover1915
1892 S. P. Thompson Dynamo-electr. Machinery (ed. 4) 88 Commutators of the ordinary sort with thin mica insulation between the bars..are easily short-circuited by the flash-over.
1931 Nature 21 Feb. 290 It was..found out that flashovers occurred in the strings of suspended insulators in industrial areas.
1950 Engineering 20 Jan. 79/2 Lightning currents which flowed to earth after the tower or earth wire had been struck, did not build up..high voltages..and so cause flashover.
1962 H. C. Weston Sight, Light & Work (ed. 2) ix. 253 Similar radiation is emitted when a ‘flash over’ occurs between electricity conductors other than welding electrodes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1892