The AI-powered English dictionary
countable and uncountable, plural flashovers
The near simultaneous ignition of all combustible material in an enclosed area. examples
An unintended electric discharge or arc over or around an insulator. quotations examples
The overhead line was energised at 25,000 volts and the height of the contact wire was reduced to 11 in. above the chimney, then to 5 and finally to 2 in.; at this last, short distance the flashover occurred, but all the men were perfectly safe because the current went direct to earth through the locomotive.
1960 April, “Talking of Trains: Safety with 25kV a.c.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 203