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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. The study of atmospherics, especially through the use of electronic detectors.
  2. n. See atmospherics.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Plural form of Electromagnetic]] [[pulse]]s caused by atmospheric phenomena, such as [[lightning]]. {{plural of|[[sferic]]
  2. n. radio interference caused by sferics; atmospherics

Etymologies

  1. Shortening and alteration of atmospherics.

Examples

  • “Through a specially developed tweeter beam the high tone sound wave is projected to the ceiling inside the black cube where it reflects as sound figures and low red electromagnetic waves (as "whistlers" and "cracklers"), sferics and red luminous flashes.”

    we make money not art

  • “An underground receiver could perhaps be built capable of detecting sferics from lightning bolts hitting the surface hundreds of miles away.”

    The Register

  • “There a three sources of click-like interference: switching relais, electrostatic discharges caused by snow drift, and sferics produced by thunderstorms ten thousands of kilometers away.”

    Gizmodo

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Comments

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  • jgould Oh it's time to write some lyrics
    About those darned old sferics
    But it's hard to wax rhapsodic in the rain.

    Midst the cold and drear and drizzle
    My poetry goes a-fizzle
    So I'll just slog until the sun attain. Jun 21, 2010

  • sionnach alternate spelling: spherics, derived from atmospherics Nov 5, 2007

‘sferics’ has been looked up 1032 times, loved by 1 person, added to 7 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 12.