(n.) A drum made of thin copper in the form of a hemispherical kettle, with parchment stretched over the mouth of it.
(n.) An informal social party at which a light collation is offered, held in the afternoon or early evening. Cf. Drum, n., 4 and 5.
Example Sentences:
(1) Like being inside a kettledrum with a whole symphony going on out there and with thunder in wraparound quadraphonic!"
Tension
Definition:
(a.) The act of stretching or straining; the state of being stretched or strained to stiffness; the state of being bent strained; as, the tension of the muscles, tension of the larynx.
(a.) Fig.: Extreme strain of mind or excitement of feeling; intense effort.
(a.) The degree of stretching to which a wire, cord, piece of timber, or the like, is strained by drawing it in the direction of its length; strain.
(a.) The force by which a part is pulled when forming part of any system in equilibrium or in motion; as, the tension of a srting supporting a weight equals that weight.
(a.) A device for checking the delivery of the thread in a sewing machine, so as to give the stitch the required degree of tightness.
(a.) Expansive force; the force with which the particles of a body, as a gas, tend to recede from each other and occupy a larger space; elastic force; elasticity; as, the tension of vapor; the tension of air.
(a.) The quality in consequence of which an electric charge tends to discharge itself, as into the air by a spark, or to pass from a body of greater to one of less electrical potential. It varies as the quantity of electricity upon a given area.
Example Sentences:
(1) Steady-state values of cell, glucose, and cellulase concentration oxygen tension, and outlet gas oxygen partial pressure were recorded.
(2) This study compared the non-invasive vascular profiles, coagulation tests, and rheological profiles of 46 consecutive cases of low-tension glaucoma with 69 similarly unselected cases of high-tension glaucoma and 47 age-matched controls.
(3) Microelectrodes were used to measure the oxygen tension (PO2) profile within individual spheroids at different stages of growth.
(4) Circular muscle strips from the opossum esophageal body obtained 3-5 cm above the esophagogastric junction were suspended in organ baths for measurement of isometric tension.
(5) No significant differences were observed in tension characteristics between the exercised and nonexercised muscles on day 11.
(6) By means of rapid planar Hill type antimony-bismuth thermophiles the initial heat liberated by papillary muscles was measured synchronously with developed tension for control (C), pressure-overload (GOP), and hypothyrotic (PTU) rat myocardium (chronic experiments) and after application of 10(-6) M isoproterenol or 200 10(-6) M UDCG-115.
(7) Upon depletion of ATP in contraction, the P2 intensity reverted to the original rigor level, accompanied by development of rigor tension.
(8) The penetration coefficient, determined by the surface tension, contact angle and viscosity, is a measure of the ability of a liquid to penetrate into a capillary space, such as interproximal regions, gingival pockets and pores.
(9) Airway closure (CV), functional residual capacity (FRC) and the distribution of inspired gas (nitrogen washout delay percentage, NWOD %) and arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) was measured by standard electrodes in eight extremely obese patients before and after weight loss (mean weights 142 and 94 kg, respectively) following intestinal shunt operation.
(10) Rings of isolated coronary and femoral arteries (without endothelium) were suspended for isometric tension recording in organ chambers filled with modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution.
(11) The decrease in cardiac performance observed during ventricular pacing was related to the severity of asynchrony rather than the direction of the ventricular depolarization or change in regional myocardial tension.
(12) The ruling centre-right coalition government of Angela Merkel was dealt a blow by voters in a critical regional election on Sunday after the centre-left opposition secured a wafer-thin victory, setting the scene for a tension-filled national election in the autumn when everything will be up for grabs.
(13) A logarithmic relationship between closing tension and tensile strength was demonstrated using linear regression analysis with t = 6.18, p less than .0001, and R2 = .44.
(14) Tension in flexor tendons during wrist flexion may play a role in otherwise unexplained instances of the carpal tunnel syndrome.
(15) As a consequence of deformation from spherical-to-cylindrical shape in the microvasculature, demands for increased surface membrane area leads to increases in surface membrane tension above critical levels for rupture, and the cancer cells are rapidly and lethally damaged.
(16) We found that, compared with younger patients, older headache patients had more tension headache and less migraine headache.
(17) The relationship between intraluminal pressure and volume was determined in the cervical tracheal segments positioned firstly under normal longitudinal tension and secondly in hyperextension.
(18) The countries have accused each other of cross-border attacks and there are fears the current tension could spark a wider war with Nkunda at its centre.
(19) But, in a sign of tension within the coalition government, the Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman, Tom Brake, told BBC2's Newsnight that "if [the offenders in question] had committed the same offence the day before the riots, they would not have received a sentence of that nature".
(20) When you have champions of financial rectitude such as the International Monetary Fund and OECD warning of the international risk of an "explosion of social unrest" and arguing for a new fiscal stimulus if growth continues to falter, it's hardly surprising that tensions in the cabinet over next month's spending review are spilling over.