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Impulse
Definitions
- 1 A thrust; a push; a sudden force that impels.
"c. 1715-1716, Samuel Clarke, letter to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz All spontaneous animal motion is performed by mechanical impulse."
- 2 the act of applying force suddenly wordnet
- 3 A wish or urge, particularly a sudden one prompting action.
"The impulse to learn drove me to study night and day."
- 4 an impelling force or strength wordnet
- 5 The integral of force over time.
"The total impulse from the impact will depend on the kinetic energy of the projectile."
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- 6 the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber wordnet
- 7 (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients) wordnet
- 8 a sudden desire wordnet
- 9 an instinctive motive wordnet
- 1 To impel; to incite. transitive
"With that force so impulsed and prest they are carried under the deepe Ocean."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French impulser, from Latin impulsus. For spelling, as in pulse, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than /lz/ as in pulls, and does not change the vowel (‘u’). Compare else, false, convulse.
Borrowed from Middle French impulser, from Latin impulsus. For spelling, as in pulse, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than /lz/ as in pulls, and does not change the vowel (‘u’). Compare else, false, convulse.
See also for "impulse"
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