sferics

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From atmospherics.

Noun[edit]

sferics

  1. plural of sferic

Noun[edit]

sferics pl (plural only)

  1. Electromagnetic pulses caused by atmospheric phenomena, such as lightning. plural of sferic
    • 1920: Wilbur H. Paulsen (American Meteorological Society pub.), Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society [1]
      A Sferics Locating System has been developed to determine the geographical location of lightning strokes...
    • 1965 (pub.): Mitre Corporation, Research & Experimentation 1960-1964 [2]
      ...an artificial sferics generator was used as a known source of EM pulses.
    • 1987: Barbara Tufty, 1001 Questions Answered About Hurricanes, Tornadoes and Other Natural Air Disasters [3]
      Researchers have thought that possibly these sferics could be used to track hurricanes—but so far, they have been only marginally successful.
    • 1998, Donald R. MacGorman, W. David Rust, The Electrical Nature of Storms‎[4]:
      Sferics are classified normally by the frequency of the receiver used to detect them.
    • 1999, Rudolf F. Graf, William Sheets, The Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits‎[5]:
      This circuit generates a bipolar pulse waveform that closely approximates the main features of sferics.
    • 2003: Rakov, Vladimir A. Rakov, Martin A. Uman, Lightning: Physics and Effects [6]
      The second common theoretical approach of the propagation of sferics involves viewing the Earth-ionosphere cavity as a waveguide...
  2. Radio interference caused by sferics; atmospherics.
    • 1959, D. L. Carpenter, Identification of Whistler Sources on Visual Records and a Method of Routine Whistler Analysis‎[7]:
      In the identification of sources of short whistlers, the spectral characteristics of the sferics can often be used to establish many sferics as doubtful...
    • 1963, Thomas Pynchon, V.‎[8]:
      As it turned out, the whistler was only the first of a family of sferics whose taxonomy was to include clicks, hooks, risers, nose-whistlers and one like a warbling of birds called the dawn chorus....

Usage notes[edit]

When referring to the electromagnetic phenomenon, this term can be used either as the normal plural of sferic or in pluralia tantum construction.

Alternative forms[edit]

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