ignitionn.

1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate Termes 344 Ignition is calcination, the fire reducing violent bodies into calx.

1666 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities 297 Silver will indure Ignition for a good while before it be brought to Fusion.

1685 R. Boyle Ess. Effects of Motion ii. 10 The parts may be not onely intensely heated, but brought to an actual ignition.

1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. I. viii. 326 Bodies in certain degrees of heat appear luminous. A body which is thus rendered luminous, is said to be ignited, and the effect itself is called ignition.

1807 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. (ed. 3) III. 163 It loses no weight in any degree of heat below ignition.

1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory iii. 551 The crucible must be heated above 700° of Fahrenheit, which is the point of ignition of zinc. At this temperature the metal inflames, burning with a dazzling white and green flame.

1827 M. Faraday Exper. Res. xxxviii. 218 A portion of the gas..caused dull ignition of the platina.

1838 C. Tomlinson Stud. Man. Nat. Philos. i. i. 44 By incandescence we mean a glowing heat; and this is altogether different from ignition, since in the latter process the body is chemically changed; and generally speaking, a body can be ignited but once, whereas a body may be brought to a state of incandescence many times.

1919 E. W. Stone Elem. Radiotelegr. (1920) viii. 152 The potential existing across the arc at this instant is termed the extinction voltage as distinguished from that at ignition. It is less than the ignition voltage.

1927 J. G. Tarboux Electr. Power Equipm. iv. 128 The ignition anode is now drawn up by the spring..and at the point of rupture with the mercury an arc is started.

1945 ‘Electr. Engineer’ Ref. Bk. x. 3 The action of the mercury-arc rectifier requires the cathode spot to be produced first by some auxiliary device before the arc can be established. This is generally effected by drawing an arc between the cathode and a small auxiliary anode, a process termed ignition.

1962 Newnes Conc. Encycl. Electr. Engin. 380/1 The ignitron differs from the other mercury-arc rectifiers..in the method used for ignition of the arc.

1900 G. D. Hiscox Horseless Vehicles xi. 184 The ignition of the charge is effected by heating the nickel tubes projecting about 2½ inches from the rear ends of the cylinders into the ignition box.

1894 B. Donkin Text-bk. Gas, Oil, & Air Engines i. xi. 140 At a given moment, a zig-zag passage in the slide valve is brought opposite the ignition chamber, and opens communication between it and the admission port into the cylinder.

1907 R. B. Whitman Motor-car Princ. vi. 74 While wire is sometimes used on ignition circuits for the return as well as the lead, the most usual method is to utilise the metal of the engine to return the current to its source.

1926 R. W. Hutchinson First Course Wireless 54 Some makers label the capacities of accumulators as ‘ignition capacity’.

1902 S. R. Bottone (title) Ignition Devices for Gas and Petrol Motors.

1894 B. Donkin Text-bk. Gas, Oil, & Air Engines i. xi. 149 Ignition stroke.

1902 J. E. Hutton in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors & Motor-driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) viii. 159 The magneto ignition system..consists of a magneto-electric rotary machine, combined with a series of mechanical contact-breakers.

1943 A. P. Fraas Aircraft Power Plants viii. 140 The so-called battery ignition system has been used almost universally in automobiles... All the larger and many of the smaller aircraft engines make use of magneto ignition systems.

1956 H. E. Milburn Motor-cars To-day vi. 115 A normal ignition system consists of an induction coil, a condenser, a contact breaker, a distributor, a sparking plug for each cylinder of the engine, a switch, and the necessary connecting wires.

1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station 55 A piece of tin..had sheared four ignition wires.

1908 H. E. Wimperis Internal Combustion Engine viii. 282 It is permissible to set the ignition to take place..slightly before the dead centre... This reduces the arc of ignition advance throughout which the magneto is called upon to generate an effective spark.

1946 A. W. Judge Mod. Petrol Engines ii. 32 For weaker mixtures the flame rates are lower so that a greater ignition advance is necessary than for correct or slightly rich mixtures.

1900 G. D. Hiscox Horseless Vehicles vii. 127 (heading) Electric ignition coils.

1953 I. Frazee et al. Automotive Fuel & Ignition Syst. vii. 247 The ignition coil must produce sufficient voltage and current to ignite the fuel mixture at the various engine speeds encountered.

1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise ix. 155 I have the ignition keys of both cars.

1934 Punch 3 Oct. 388/3 Stepping into Humbottle's car am surprised to hear burst of gruff laughter... This probably explained by absence of ignition-key.

1962 J. Braine Life at Top xix. 190 She turned the ignition key; the car jerked forward convulsively, then stopped. ‘Put it in neutral first,’ I said.

1972 Police Rev. 1 Dec. 1577/3 They removed the ignition keys and sent a message by radio for an officer to attend with the breath test equipment.

1932 Fuel XI. 187/1 At a definite temperature the ignition lag becomes infinitely great and ignition no longer takes place.

1900 G. D. Hiscox Horseless Vehicles vii. 130 (heading) Electric ignition plug.

1902 J. E. Hutton in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors & Motor-driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) viii. 161 The ignition plugs may be examined to see that they are not coated with oil.

1933 I-B. O. Sneeden Introd. Internal Combustion Engineering ix. 164 The number of ignition plugs per cylinder is not limited to one. Two are often used.

1887 Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1886 22 483 In..trials, which I made with sound pine wood, I soon found that the ignition point was greatly affected by the way in which the sample was heated.

1887 Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1886 22 486 The ignition point of the pine wood varied from 330°..to 218°.

1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics I. 338/2 The ignition points of oils are frequently required in connection with internal combustion engine problems.

1922 Wireless World IX. 727/1 Extensive use was made of portable accumulators..on motor cycles. The intermittent discharge through a trembler contact gave an apparent duration of double the hours at..a certain current. This led to the ignition rating of portable cells which is..misleading..for wireless work.

1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 437/2 Ignition rating, a special rating (in ampere-hours, q.v.) employed for accumulators used for supplying ignition systems; it is generally twice the continuous rating at a low discharge rate.

1952 Ellery Queen's Mystery Mag. XIX. 31/2 There was a car parked in front of the entrance, a Ford coupe, 1937... The key was in the ignition switch.

1881 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. ii. 679 (heading) Ignition temperature of mixed gases.

1897 F. Grover Pract. Treat. Mod. Gas & Oil Engines xix. 196 (heading) Ignition temperatures of explosive gaseous mixtures.

1968 Fuel XLVII. 119 According to D. W. van Krevelin the ignition temperature of coal depends on experimental conditions such as furnace design, way of heating, particle size, oxygen concentration and coal rank.

1874 F. Clowes Elem. Treat. Pract. Chem. ii. 30 (heading) Small ignition tubes.

1890 W. Robinson Gas & Petroleum Engines vii. 229 The average life of ignition tubes in the Differential was 180 hours, and in the Cycle engine 120 hours.

1894 B. Donkin Text-bk. Gas, Oil, & Air Engines i. viii. 108 Ignition tube.

1962 A. Atkinson Compl. Pract. Chem. xii. 272 Heat a little of the substance in an ignition tube or in a small dry test-tube until no further change occurs.