explosionn.
/ᵻkˈspləʊʒn/, /ɛkˈspləʊʒn/, U.S. /ᵻkˈsploʊʒ(ə)n/, /ɛkˈsploʊʒ(ə)n/ 1. Originally: †the action or an act of rejecting or discarding something (obsolete). Later: the action or an act of discrediting or disproving a theory, myth, etc. Cf. explode v. 1a, 3.
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the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > [noun] > contemptuous rejection
explosion1546
spurn1604
exploding1617
spurninga1853
1546 W. Hugh Troubled Mans Med. i. sig. D.vii As he which hath the dropsy the more he drynketh the more he thirsteth, in lyke case the worldly man the more he hath, the more he couiteth. Iucrease of vertues? no, rather an explosion of them all.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Explosion, a casting off or rejecting, a hissing a thing out.
1783 P. Pott Chirurg. Wks. (new ed.) II. 8 The explosion of the long continued notion that such wounds were poisonous.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 27 Observation and reason long ago triumphed in its [sc. the Ptolemaic System's] explosion, and universal rejection by the learned.
1885 B. Harte Maruja ix. 189 The explosion of this idea of a primal curse.
1893 E. H. Porter Fall River Trag. x. 61 The explosion of this theory afforded much satisfaction to the authorities.
1909 C. B. Fillebrown A B C of Taxation i. i. 9 In this clear distinction between land and land value..may there not be found an explosion of the notion that a man has a right to the private appropriation of ground rent, because his father bought and paid for the land fifty or one hundred years ago?
2011 D. Cavallaro World Angela Carter 1 Angela Carter..renowned for her tantalizing interpretation—and attendant explosion—of the prolific myths which human cultures construct.
2. † a. Exhalation from the lungs. Obsolete. rare.
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1650 W. Charleton tr. J. B. van Helmont Deliramenta Catarrhi 48 The attraction and explosion of aer, in the reciprocal motions of Respiration.
1659 W. Charleton Nat. Hist. Nutrition viii. 141 As for that of Exspiration, it seems to be no other but the explosion of the same aer formerly received.
b. Discharge, expulsion, or propulsion, esp. of sudden, violent, or noisy nature; an instance of this. Also in figurative contexts. Now rare.
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the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > [noun] > sudden or violent
eruption1555
ebullition1600
eluctation1633
explosion1652
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > [noun] > ejection > with violence and noise
belcha1522
explosion1652
pluff1663
1652 W. Charleton Darknes Atheism iv. 156 Tis..as consonant to the rules of its [sc. lightning] projection or explosion, to be shot point blanck at any mark on land, as to be discharged at randome on the Sea.
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 35 What a happiness is it..that he should luck upon the right one [sc. word]..that at the explosion made such a goodly report?
1718 I. Newton Opticks (ed. 2) iii. i. 317 When Gun-powder takes fire,..the Spirit of the Nitre being..rarified into Vapour, rushes out with Explosion.
1816 P. Keith Syst. Physiol. Bot. II. 317 It [sc. a drop of fluid] may even have some effect in forwarding the explosion of the pollen.
1862 C. Darwin On Var. Contrivances Orchids Fertilised iv. 130 The sudden explosion of viscid matter.
2007 ‘Momus’ Bk. of Jokes xxxvii. 164 He..releases the hot contents of his sick stomach into the orchestra pit in a huge explosion of diarrhea.
c. Discharge of an artillery piece or firearm. Now rare.
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1654 W. Charleton Physiologia Epicuro-Gassendo-Charltoniana iii. vi. 231 The Compression of the ambient aer by the explosion of Canons.
1797 Conc. Narr. Actions During Present War 60 The firing of both sides was so violent, that torrents of rain descended, which was ascribed in some degree to the explosion of cannon.
a1831 C. W. Cushing Lett. Descriptive Public Monuments (1832) II. xx. 257 The explosion of the cannons may prove destructive to those who fire them, either by the concussion of the air only, or by bringing down a portion of the rock in which they are placed.
2008 G. M. De Los Reyes Legend Little Man Wolf viii. 44 His father being thrown back against the wall by the force of the close range explosion of the guns.
d. A volcanic eruption.In quot. 1771: the phenomenon of volcanic eruption.
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > convulsion > [noun] > volcanic activity > eruption
irruption1613
fire1632
incendium1637
eructation1652
volcano1699
eruption1740
explosion1771
eruction1842
extravasation1842
volcanoism1907
1771 W. Hamilton Remarks Nature Soil of Naples 36 Time, and other accidents, may be reasonably supposed to have worn away this distinctive mark of its having been formed by explosion.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 363 The garrison..was alarmed with frequent explosions of fire and smoke, emitted from the mountain.
1828 L. Simond Tour Italy & Sicily 423 The elder Pliny was with the Roman fleet under his command, when the dreadful explosion of Vesuvius..took place in the year 79.
1967 Boys' Life Mar. 18/2 The great explosion of Mt. Krakatoa between Sumatra and Java 83 years ago cost the lives of 36,000 people.
2005 R. M. C. Lopes Volcano Adventure Gulde 5/2 A strong and unexpected explosion in July 2000 covered half the island with a thick layer of ash and pumice fragments.
e. Phonetics. The sudden release of air in the pronunciation of a plosive; an instance of this; = plosion n.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by manner > [noun] > obstruent > stop > plosive > plosion
explosion1866
implosion1877
plosion1912
1866 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 8 343 A bit of audible breath is interposed between the breach of mute closure, the ‘explosion’, and the following vowel.
1879 H. Sweet in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1877–9 471 The initial voiceless stops have a stronger explosion than in English.
1943 Amer. Speech 18 39 [In pronouncing phrases with a final explosive stop,] a British speaker ordinarily articulates the vowel of the final syllable, lifts his tongue to make the closure for the final consonant (applosion), holds it there..(occlusion), and then breaks the closure with a sharp downward snap of the tongue which produces a clear ‘pop’ (explosion).
2008 Phonology 25 391 With the opening of two oral closures, a bilabial implosion occurs simultaneously with a velar explosion.
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1669 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 4 1090 That, if the Succus nutritius in the Nerves, be by a violent explosion dilated, and that by the means of Fixed Salts mixed in the Nerves with Acid ones (according to Dr. Willis;) the same may happen upon the Concurrence and Conflict of the like Salts in the Blood.
1678 J. Browne Compl. Disc. Wounds 50 It happens from thin Phlegm, which flows from the Brain, and therein does create an Obstruction through its whole substance, making it more soft, out of which softness there follows an explosion of the Nerves.
1681 S. Pordage tr. T. Willis Ess. Pathol. Brain i. 5 The explosions themselves, in the Convulsive Affection, though they are excited contrary to the will of the Appetite, and the manner of Nature, are far more vehement, and do longer continue, than in the regular motion.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Explosion, an Action of the Animal spirits, whereby the Nerves are suddenly drawn together, when some Particles of a different kind are mixed with the Spirits, by which they are violently expanded, or spread forth and driven into confusion, like the parts of fired Gun-powder.
1878 M. L. Holbrook Hygiene Brain 37 Life is a continual explosion of nerve material.
1887 Practice 1 104 A sudden suspension of bromide administration in epileptics is followed by a severe explosion.
1914 Med. Council 19 463/1 The blood contains an antitoxin set free by the epileptic explosion.
4.
a. A violent release of energy in the form of intense heat, light, noise, and a powerful blast, generated by a rapid chemical or nuclear reaction; the action or process of producing such a release of energy; an instance of this.
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the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > [noun] > bursting violently from rest or restraint > exploding > an explosion (of fire, gunpowder, etc.)
displosion1656
explosion1681
bursta1719
exploding1770
blow-up1807
airquake1891
cook-off1947
1681 S. Pordage tr. T. Willis Remaining Med. Wks. i. x. 42 Upon the explosion of the powder [L. a pulvere exploso], there followed a great noise.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. iii. 143 Where the fire damp kindles so deep in the earth, that the explosion cannot be heard.
1747 Gentleman's Mag. July 327/1 On the 6th of April..there happened a very great explosion, which beat down a good deal of the partitions.
1762 R. Symmer Let. 31 Dec. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. IV. 452 The explosion of this bomb proved to be but the bursting of a bubble.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 232 The discharge will fire the powder, and the explosion of the latter will throw off the roof.
1867 W. W. Smyth Treat. Coal & Coal-mining xii. 134 The tendency..of the results of explosion to spread through the entire colliery.
1923 H. G. Wells Men like Gods i. ii. 19 Beside it were two large apple trees freshly twisted and riven, as if by some explosion.
1929 Frost & Prevention Frost Damage (U.S. Dept. Agric. Farmers' Bull. No. 1588) 29 When pure gasoline is used the danger of explosion is greatly increased.
1981 E. R. Harrison Cosmology xix. 369/2 An event is a brief happening, such as the flash of a firefly or the explosion of a supernova.
2007 J. K. Rowling Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows ix. 138 The force of the explosion slammed him into the wall.
b. The violent shattering, bursting, or breaking apart of an object as a result of pressure, typically from within, scattering fragments outwards; an instance of this.
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the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > breaking into pieces or shattering
shiveringc1400
truncheoning1477
upbreaking1493
confraction?1541
refraction1578
splinting1598
diffraction1654
hatchet work1697
shattering1748
exploding1791
smash1808
explosion1811
splintering1815
blasting1824
shatterment1841
scatteration1880
smashing1886
1811 Lancaster Gaz. 16 Feb. 3/3 The boiler of the steam-engine burst, with a tremendous explosion.
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Explosion (Steam-eng.), the shattering of a boiler by a sudden and immense pressure, in distinction from rupture.
1943 Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News 18 Dec. 3/7 Mrs. Robert Higgins..was burned painfully here today as a result of a pressure cooker explosion.
1986 New Scientist 21 Aug. 30/2 Defective bottles are rare, but then so is the explosion of a glass container.
2015 S. Russell Compl. Guide Cultivating Mushrooms ii. 90/2 If the pressure has not diminished, a large burst of steam or a small explosion may occur.
c. The action or an act of deliberately causing something to explode.controlled explosion: see the first element.
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1813 Weekly Reg. (Balitimore) 7 Aug. 366/1 Mr E. Mix of the navy..has been..preparing torpedoes to attempt the explosion of some of the enemy's shipping in Lynhaven bay.
1846 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 II. xi. 476 The fort was carried by storm after the destruction of part of its defences by the successful explosion of a mine.
1904 Central Law Jrnl. 27 May 422/2 A city ordinance prohibited the explosion of fire-crackers without the written consent of the mayor.
1985 Third World Q. 7 361 Not long after China's successful explosion of a nuclear weapon.
2013 A. McKinty I hear Sirens in Street 237 The Army EOD unit..carried out a further controlled explosion which destroyed the van.
5. A very loud or sudden noise, resembling that of something exploding.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sudden or violent sound > explosive sound > [noun]
clapc1440
back-blast1577
bouncea1616
blast1635
fulminating1651
fulmination1651
detonation1677
blow1694
explosion1736
bursting1771
blowing up1772
blowing1799
blow-up1807
pong1823
chunk-chunk1898
chunking1902
1736 Philos. Trans. 1735–6 (Royal Soc.) 39 24 By these Experiments we see, that an actual Flame of Fire, together with an Explosion [sc. a snapping noise]..may be produced by Communicative Electricity.
1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons (new ed.) 101 Following slower, in Explosion vast, The Thunder raises his tremendous Voice.
1853 W. Robson tr. A. Dumas Three Musketeers iii. 19 At these words, the murmur without became an explosion.
1909 tr. G. Leroux Double Life iv. 55 Champagne was brought, and soon the air rang merrily with general chatter and the explosion of corks.
2014 D. L. Golemon Overlord 191 With a loud explosion of a million bass drums..,the first [flying] saucer broke into the skies over Beijing.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > discharge of electricity > [noun]
explosion1745
discharge1746
1745 W. Watson Exper. & Observ. Electr. 5 From the rubbed Tube I can sometimes procure five or six Flashes from different Parts,..each of which gave out its Electricity at a different Explosion.
?1785 J. Imison School of Arts 87 When the discharge [of a glass jar, battery, etc.] is considerable, it is often called an explosion.
1802 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. II. 65 When electric explosions are made to pass through muriatic acid gas, its bulk is diminished, and hydrogen is evolved.
1846 D. Lardner Pop. Lect. Sci. & Art I. 533 That [cloud] which has less positive electricity..will receive the deficiency from the other, and this change will be effected by an explosion before the actual contact of the clouds.
7. Figurative and metaphorical uses of sense 4.
a. An event or act likened to an explosion in its suddenness, violence, destructiveness, or intensity; an outbreak, an outburst (esp. of anger or laughter).
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the mind > emotion > passion > [noun] > sudden outburst or access of passion
heatc1200
gerec1369
accessc1384
braida1450
guerie1542
bursting1552
ruff1567
riot1575
suddentyc1575
pathaire1592
flaw1596
blaze1597
start1598
passion1599
firework1601
storm1602
estuation1605
gare1606
accession?1608
vehemency1612
boutade1614
flush1614
escapea1616
egression1651
ebullition1655
ebulliency1667
flushinga1680
ecstasy1695
gusta1704
gush1720
vehemence1741
burst1751
overboiling1767
explosion1769
outflaming1836
passion fit1842
outfly1877
Vesuvius1886
outflame1889
the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > [noun] > fit(s) or outburst(s) of anger
wratha1200
wrethea1400
hatelc1400
angerc1425
braida1450
fumea1529
passion1530
fustian fume1553
ruff1567
pelt1573
spleen1590
blaze1597
huff1599
blustera1616
dog-flawa1625
overboiling1767
explosion1769
squall1807
blowout1825
flare-up1837
fit1841
bust-up1842
wax1854
Scot1859
pelter1861
ructions1862
performance1864
outfling1865
rise1877
detonation1878
flare-out1879
bait1882
paddy1894
paddywhack1899
wingding1927
wing-dinger1933
eppie1987
1769 tr. Ess. Laughter 19 We are not more liable to a violent explosion of Laughter, at the sight or description of grotesque, fictitious, and whimsical objects.
1794 Proc. High Treason 733 This experience..teaches the suffering nations of the present day in what manner to prepare their combustible ingredients, and the humanists in what manner to enkindle them, so as to produce with effect that grand political explosion.
1799 S. T. Coleridge Introd. to Tale Dark Ladie in Lit. Remains (1836) I. 51 When novelties explode around us in all directions [etc.]: But alas! explosion has followed explosion so rapidly, that novelty itself ceases to appear new.
1818 New Ann. Reg. 1817 Brit. & Foreign Hist. 60/2 A desperate conspiracy which threatened an explosion, and which had, in point of fact, exploded already.
1827 W. Scott Highland Widow in Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. I. xii. 233 Elspat was prepared for the first explosion of her son's passion.
1844 H. Rogers Ess. I. ii. 90 If there was any explosion at all, it was an explosion of merriment.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 146 This step was the signal for a general explosion. The people..refused to pay taxes.
1922 E. Brooks Elisha Brooks 43 At the circus his explosions of laughter were so boisterous that he became part of the show as the wild boy of the hills.
1972 M. Kline Math. Thought xliii. 1024 The explosion of mathematical activity.
1992 Economist 15 Aug. 32/1 Russia is on the threshold of a social explosion.
2010 G. Guntern Spirit of Creativity ii. 362 With this explosion of creativity, the first Arabian Golden Age began.
b. An instance of rapid increase in the development and number of distinct types of organisms on earth within a given period of time.
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1911 Encycl. Brit. XX. 590/1 The genus Neumayria, an ammonite of the Kimmeridgian, suddenly branches out into an ‘explosion’ of forms.
1926 Q. Rev. Biol. 1 178/2 The palæontologist has indeed a different scale; he often speaks of rapid evolution and even of ‘explosions’ of phyla.
1965 New Scientist 11 Nov. 418/2 The geological evidence shows such an explosion of life on land occurred about the time of the late Silurian—that is, 400 to 420 million years ago.
2014 W. Arthur Evolving Animals iv. 36 No-one who has seriously studied the Cambrian record doubts that some sort of explosion affecting animal life occurred then.
c. A rapid or sudden marked increase or development.Recorded earliest in population explosion n. at population n.1 Compounds 2.
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the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > rapid or sharp increase
mushroom growth1727
skyrocketing1821
wave1851
jump1883
mushrooming1916
bump-up1927
upsurgence1934
upsurge1935
explosion1953
surge1964
quantum jump1975
quantum leap1977
1953 Time 19 Oct. 28/1 Latin America is in the midst of a ‘population explosion’. Its people are multiplying 2½ times as fast as the populations in the rest of the world.
1961 ‘R. Macdonald’ Wycherly Woman (1962) ii. 20 Those sudden institutions of learning that had been springing up..to handle the products of the wartime copulation explosion.
1970 Daily Tel. 17 Mar. 7/8 British Rail is being forced to join the current ‘wages explosion’ and concede new substantial pay increases.
1987 Rail Enthusiast Nov. 15/2 The explosion in London commuter traffic.
2014 Labour Hist. 107 256 What of the explosion in social media?
8. Golf. More fully explosion shot. A shot in which the ball is made to jump out of a bunker by striking the sand just behind the ball.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > types of shot or stroke
putta1754
like1790
drive1829
tee-shot1850
gobble1857
push shot1865
iron shot1870
push stroke1873
drive-off1884
slice1886
raker1888
foozle1890
hook1890
iron1890
top1890
sclaff1893
brassy shot1894
run1894
chip shot1899
chip1903
pull1903
skimmer1903
draw shot1904
brassy1906
pitch-and-run1908
windcheater1909
air shot1920
chip-in1921
explosion1924
downhiller1925
blast1927
driver1927
shank1927
socket1927
recovery1937
whiff1952
pinsplitter1961
comebacker1965
bump-and-run1981
1924 C. J. H. Tolley Mod. Golfer x. 149 If the ball is lying well, you can either play an ‘explosion’ or take the ball cleanly.
1926 P. G. Wodehouse Heart of Goof viii. 259 An explosion-shot out of the bunker on the fourteenth.
1957 L. T. Stanley Fontana Golf Bk. 106 Explosion Shot. The most reliable recovery shot of all if played firmly.
1987 Golfer's Compan. June 33/2 See that the classical ‘explosion’ shot has been hit and that the clubhead is travelling out well towards the target even after the ball is well underway.
2015 J. Gold Golf's Forgotten Legends xv. 136 The dramatic lie improvement..meant he could play a much easier, more straightforward chip shot, rather than an explosion shot.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
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1861 S. S. Alison Physical Exam. Chest 64 Great explosions of gunpowder have produced violent oscillations of the atmosphere at a great distance,..when none of the explosion sound could be heard.
1884 19th Ann. Rep. Insurance Commissioner (State of Connecticut) I. 304 (heading) Recapitulation of explosion risks and premiums.
1938 W. S. Churchill Into Battle (1941) 17 The war-lust of Dictator Powers had reached its culminating explosion point.
1941 Sun (Baltimore) 7 Nov. 17/1 Chemical flames prevented anyone from getting into the explosion area.
1996 TNT Mag. 8 July 36/3 One might lament the fact that Brian de Palma..now directs big-budget explosion-fests.
2006 Bull. Atomic Scientists Sept. 13/2 (chart) Around the explosion site, cordon off a 500-meter..radius ‘high zone’.
C2.
explosion chamber n. (a) a compartment or container in which controlled explosions are carried out, esp. the chamber of a gun; cf. chamber n. 9c (now rare); †(b) Engineering (in an internal combustion engine) = combustion chamber n. (b) at combustion n. Compounds (obsolete).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [noun] > parts of > chambers or reservoirs
receiver1702
hot well1729
catchwater drain1744
steam-vessel1769
explosion chamber1839
uptake1839
smoke-box1846
combustion chamber1854
receiver1873
tube-case1890
1839 G. Stocker & J. Bentley Brit. Patent 8024 (1854) 2 The nature of our improvements consists..in forming an explosion chamber within the breech or solid break off of fire-arms.
1878 Sci. Amer. 20 Apr. 244/1 An engine..contrived to introduce into an explosion chamber a certain quantity of the powdered combustible and air.
1903 Motoring Ann. 282 It reduces the space of the explosion chamber.
1988 Technol. & Culture 29 597 The bulbous shape of the thickened metal wall around the explosion chamber is too characteristic of these early gunpowder weapons to be mistaken.
2014 Jrnl. Loss Prevention Process Industries 27 50 The Fike Corporation 1-m3 explosion chamber has an external dust reservoir.
explosion crater n. a crater formed by an explosion at or near the ground surface; esp. (Geology) such a crater formed by volcanic activity, typically by the explosive evaporation of groundwater heated by magma; cf. maar n. b.
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1890 S. Sekiya & Y. Kikuchi in Trans. Seismol. Soc. Japan 13 187 The great horse-shoe-like chasm opened toward the north may be called an explosion-crater.
1937 Science 24 Sept. 8/2 Giant meteorites..leave in sub-surface rock layers records of their arrival that persist as permanent geologic features even after the great explosion craters have been weathered away.
1977 J. E. Guest & R. Greeley Geol. on Moon v. 81 Ejection craters usually have raised rims consisting in part of material thrown out from the crater and include volcanic explosion craters, chemical and nuclear explosion craters and impact craters.
2007 C. A. Hall Introd. Geol. Southern Calif. xix. 344/1 The Mono Craters form a conspicuous 13-km- (8-mi-) long arc of young silicic domes and explosion craters near the southern shore of Mono Lake and the Long Valley caldera to the south.
explosion machine n. now rare (historical in later use) (a) = internal combustion engine at internal combustion n. 2; (b) an explosive device or weapon such as a missile or bomb.With quot. 1941 cf. infernal machine n. at infernal adj. 4b.
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1822 Trans. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 1 218 (heading) Mr. Cecil on an Explosion-Machine to produce a Moving Power.
1830 J. Marshall Royal Naval Biogr. Suppl. iv. 297 He volunteered his services in a ‘catamaran’ expedition, and placed one of the explosion machines precisely as directed.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 321/1 Explosion machine, a motor which depends for its force upon the explosion of substances generating a gas which is used under pressure in an engine or apparatus.
1941 Q. National Fire Protection Assoc. Jan. 215 Allied to the threat of fire is another threat of the saboteur, the ‘infernal’ explosion machine.
1966 B. Becker J. Verne x. 98 The explosion machine that Nadar dreamed about was first realized twenty years later in the Daimler gasoline engine.
explosion pipette n. now rare an apparatus designed to act as a container in which the combustion of explosive mixtures of gas are carried out, typically consisting of a reinforced glass chamber, a capillary tube, and a means of generating an electrostatic discharge.Such a procedure may be undertaken, for example, to analyse the composition of a gas.
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1874 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 108 186 This explosion pipette..enables the short measuring tube to take the place of a much longer one..since explosions can be made with just the requisite quantities of..gas.
1901 M. W. Travers Exper. Study Gases 136 In the earlier experiments the tap of the explosion pipette was lubricated with a hydrocarbon grease.
1991 E. Smolková-Keulemansová & L. Feltl in G. Svehla Wilson & Wilson's Comprehensive Analyt. Chem. XXVIII. viii. 113 The reaction is carried out in explosion pipettes..which are thick-walled glass spheres fitted with a capillary tube for the test gas and connected through a rubber tube with a levelling vessel.
explosion-proof adj. capable of withstanding or resisting the destructive effect of an explosion; designed to prevent an explosion from occurring during use.
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1824 Caledonian Mercury 25 Oct. 4/3 A new mode of constructing cabins has been introduced, so as to place them beyond the reach of injury from explosions of the boiler. These may be called explosion proof cabins.
1931 Motor Boating Feb. 141/1 The Super-Master is explosion proof. Thousands of exhaustive tests..give conclusive proof that the explosive vapors from gasoline or other gases cannot possibly be ignited by the operation of this pump.
2009 D. J. Shayler Space Rescue iv. 105 Though full details are still to become clear, the pad at Jiuquan features an explosion-proof elevator or an escape slide and explosion-proof bunker.
explosion tube n. a tube used for carrying out the controlled explosion or combustion of gases and dust; esp. = explosion pipette n.
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1852 A. W. Hofmann & H. B. Jones tr. J. Liebig & H. Kopp Ann. Rep. Progr. Chem. 1849 III. 391 These experimenters also found that the diameter of the explosion-tube [Ger. Detonationsröhre] is not immaterial.
1894 Philos. Trans. 1893 (Royal Soc.) A. 184 550 By opening tap 8 quantities of the mixed gases are drawn over into the explosion-tube J, and there caused to combine under diminished pressure by passing a spark.
1948 NFPA Handbk. Fire Prevention (ed. 10) lxiii. 1119 (table) Vapor-air-inert gas samples were placed in explosion tubes and exposed to a small electric spark or open flame.
2013 Jrnl. Loss Prevention Process Industries 26 295/2 To carry out large-scale experiments with test mixtures of methane and air, researchers constructed an explosion tube measuring 105 cm in diameter and 73 m long.
explosion wave n. the shock wave generated by an explosion.
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1874 Engineer 27 Nov. 388/2 The overthrowing power of the explosion wave at very short distances from the focus..is forcibly indicated by the damage done to the iron-barred gates and piers at the North Lodge.
1951 Pop. Sci. July 96 It makes holes for dynamite charges that show hidden oil deposits by the way the explosion waves travel through the ground.
2005 A. Brown J. D. Bernal ix. 173 Libessart had studied the early phases of an explosion wave by the ‘ingenious method of spark photography’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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