impulse

(ĭm'pŭls')
n.

1. 1. An impelling force; an impetus.
   2. The motion produced by such a force.
2. A sudden wish or urge that prompts an unpremeditated act or feeling; an abrupt inclination: had an impulse to run away; an impulse of regret that made me hesitate; bought a hat on impulse.
3. A motivating force or tendency: "Respect for the liberty of others is not a natural impulse in most men" (Bertrand Russell).
4. Electronics. A surge of electrical power in one direction.
5. Physics. The product obtained by multiplying the average value of a force by the time during which it acts. The impulse equals the change in momentum produced by the force in this time interval.
6. Physiology. The electrochemical transmission of a signal along a nerve fiber that produces an excitatory or inhibitory response at a target tissue, such as a muscle or another nerve.

adj.
Characterized by impulsiveness or acting on impulse: an impulse shopper; impulse buying.

[Latin impulsus, from past participle of impellere, to impel. See impel.]

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noun

1. Something that causes and encourages a given response: encouragement, fillip, impetus, incentive, inducement, motivation, prod, push, spur, stimulant, stimulation, stimulator, stimulus. See cause/effect.
2. An impulsive, often illogical turn of mind: bee, boutade, caprice, conceit, fancy, freak, humor, megrim, notion, vagary, whim, whimsy. Idioms: bee in one's bonnet. See thoughts.

In a human movement, the impulse of force is the area under a force time curve that represents the amount of force applied to a bone at each moment of an action. For a constant force, impulse is the product of force and the time over which the force acts (impulse = force × time); for a variable force, the impulse is the integral of the force with respect to time. In either case, the impulse of an object is equal to the change in momentum that is produced by it, and the longer the time a force is applied to an object the greater the change in the object's momentum. Techniques have been developed in athletic throwing events to extend the length of time a thrower can apply a force to a projectile and thereby increase its change in momentum (see O'Brien technique). Athletic movements are often analysed in terms of two types of impulse; controlled impulse and transmitted impulse. A controlled impulse is due to direct muscle effort and joint leverage, as with the driving leg during a sprint start. A transmitted impulse occurs when, for example, a high jumper is about to take off. The take-off leg braces itself against the ground, but the magnitude and direction of impulse is determined by the free arm and leg, and not through the take-off leg.

IN BRIEF: n. - An impelling force or strength; The electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients); A sudden desire.

Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world, and bettered the tradition of mankind. — Robert Louis Stevenson

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Quotes:

"The most decisive actions of our life -- I mean those that are most likely to decide the whole course of our future -- are, more often than not, unconsidered." - Andre Gide

"The awful daring of a moment's surrender which an age of prudence can never retract." - T. S. Eliot

1. (in physics) a vector quantity equal to the integral of the force, F, acting on a body with respect to the time, t, over which the force acts: ∫Fdt. if the force is constant the expression reduces to the product Ft. It also equals the total change of momentum of the body induced by the applied force.
2. (in physics) an electrical surge of unidirectional polarity.
3. (in physiology) or nerve impulse an all-or-none signal propagated along the axons of neurons by which information is transmitted rapidly and precisely through the nervous system. It consists of a sequence of changes in ionic permeability of the neuronal membrane that gives rise to ionic currents and associated changes in transmembrane electrical potential.

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1. a sudden pushing force.
2. a sudden uncontrollable act.
3. a nerve impulse.

• cardiac i. — movement of the chest wall caused by the heartbeat. Called also apex beat.
• nerve i. — the electrochemical process propagated along nerve fibers.

n

A surge of electric current for a short time span; for example, in a 60-cycle AC current, there are 120 impulses per second. See also impression, maxillary.

For a list of words related to impulse, see:

• Brain and Central Nervous System - impulse: traveling wave of excitation that sends message through neuron
• Principles of Mechanics, Waves, and Measurement - impulse: product of a force and the time during which it acts
• Mental States, Processes, and Behavior - impulse: wave of psychic energy that is either discharged, inhibited, directed, or sublimated
• Intuition and Imagination - impulse: sudden, spontaneous inclination or idea

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See words rhyming with "impulse."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Impulse.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - impuls, indskydelse, tilskyndelse, skub, stød, drivkraft
adj. - impulsiv, spontan

idioms:

• electric impulse    elektrisk impuls
• on impulse    spontant, impulsivt

Nederlands (Dutch)
impuls, drijfveer, stimulans, opwelling

Français (French)
n. - impulsion, poussée, redressement (économique), influx, (Élec, Phys) impulsion
adj. - par impulsion

idioms:

• electric impulse    impulsion électrique
• on impulse    sur une impulsion, sur un coup de tête

Deutsch (German)
n. - Impuls, Antrieb
adj. - impulsiv, leidenschaftlich, Trieb...

idioms:

• electric impulse    Stromstoß
• on impulse    impulsiv

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - παρόρμηση, ορμέμφυτο, (παρ)ώθηση, ώση, αυθόρμητη διάθεση

idioms:

• electric impulse    ηλεκτρώθηση
• on impulse    παρορμητικά

Italiano (Italian)
impulso, slancio

idioms:

• electric impulse    scossa elettrica
• on impulse    d'impulso

Português (Portuguese)
n. - impulso (m)

idioms:

• electric impulse    impulso (m) elétrico
• on impulse    por impulso (m)

Русский (Russian)
толчок, удар, порыв

idioms:

• electric impulse    электрический импульс
• on impulse    под влиянием момента

Español (Spanish)
n. - impulso, ímpetu, estímulo, influjo
adj. - de impulso, de impulsión, impulsivo

idioms:

• electric impulse    impulso eléctrico
• on impulse    obrar sin reflexión

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - impuls (äv. bildl.), ingivelse, lust, impuls (elektr. el. fysiol.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
冲动, 刺激, 驱使, 冲动的

idioms:

• electric impulse    脉冲
• on impulse    冲动地, 一时冲动地...

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 衝動, 刺激, 驅使
adj. - 衝動的

idioms:

• electric impulse    脈衝
• on impulse    衝動地, 一時衝動地...

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 추진력, 충동, 충격 전파
adj. - 추진력의, 충동적인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 衝撃, 推進力, 衝動, 刺激, はずみ
v. - 衝撃を与える

idioms:

• on impulse    衝動的に

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دافع, حافز, نبضه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דחף, דחיפה, מתקף, אימפולס, החלטת פתע, כוח גדול הפועל זמן קצר מאד לשינוי מצב התנועה או התנוחה (פיסיקה)‬
adj. - ‮פועל לפי דחפים‬

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