Abbreviation for Birmingham Wire Gauge.

An electric alarm or call produced by a rapid vibration of electric make and break mechanism, which is often magnified by enclosure in a resonating chamber, resembling a bell, but which is not struck or touched by the vibrating parts. Sometimes a square wooden box is used as resonator.

A copper conductor used in electric lighting or power stations, to receive the current from all the dynamos. The distributing leads are connected to the bus wires. In the three-wire system there are three; in the two-wire system there are two bus wires. The name is undoubtedly derived from “omnibus.” The bus wires may be [...]

(a) In a dynamo, the production of shifting and temporary arcs between the commutator and brushes, which arcs produce heat enough to injure the parts in question. (b) In electro-plating, a defect due to too strong a current in proportion to the strength of solution and area of electrodes. This gives a black or badly-colored [...]

A species of switch which is actuated by the pressure of a button. In its normal position the button is pressed outwards by a spring, and the circuit is open. When pressed inwards, it closes the circuit. When released it springs backward and opens the circuit again. They are principally used for ringing bells. If [...]

A gas burner arranged for the flame to be lighted by electricity. It takes a great variety of forms. In some cases a pair of terminals are arranged near the flame or a single terminal is placed near the metal tip, the latter forming one of the terminals. The spark is generally produced by an [...]

A buoy for use to indicate channels or dangers in harbors and elsewhere, which carries an electric light, whose current is supplied by cable from shore. It has been proposed to use glass tubes exhausted of air and containing mercury, which, as moved by the waves, would produce a luminous effect. A fifty-candle power incandescent [...]

In photometry, the Bunsen Disc is a piece of paper upon whose centre a spot is saturated with melted paraffin, or a ring of paraffined surface surrounds an untouched central spot. If placed in such a position that it receives an equal illumination on each side, the spot almost disappears. It is used on the [...]

A connection or arrangement for overcoming a “bug.” It is said that the terms “bug” and “bug trap” originated in quadruplex telegraphy.

Any fault or trouble in the connections or working of electric apparatus.