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Posted By: Wordwind Deflagrate - 04/17/02 08:57 AM
OK, today's word is the verb deflagrate. Very happy to be informed that this is to cause to burn. I wouldn't have taken de- to be an intensifier, so it's good to be informed here.

What I'd like to know is what are the antonyms of deflagrate?

Bonfire retards,
WithoutWildfires

Posted By: wwh Re: Deflagrate - 04/17/02 03:07 PM
In an internal combustion engine, the rate of burning is critical to production of power. For instance, when there is an excess of fuel, and it is insufficiently compressed, it explodes, but much less powerfully than when mixture is properly lean, and compression high and achieved quickly, which results in deflagration.
A similar word is detonate. Gunpowder unconfined burns much slower than it does when confined. When tightly confined, as in cartridge in rifle chamber, it detonates, and can propel the bullet at high speed.

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