blast furnace

2 definitions found

blast furnace - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Blast \Blast\ (bl[.a]st), n. [AS. bl[=ae]st a puff of wind, a
     blowing; akin to Icel. bl[=a]str, OHG. bl[=a]st, and fr. a
     verb akin to Icel. bl[=a]sa to blow, OHG. bl[^a]san, Goth.
     bl[=e]san (in comp.); all prob. from the same root as E.
     blow. See Blow to eject air.]
     1. A violent gust of wind.
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              And see where surly Winter passes off,
              Far to the north, and calls his ruffian blasts;
              His blasts obey, and quit the howling hill.
                                                    --Thomson.
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     2. A forcible stream of air from an orifice, as from a
        bellows, the mouth, etc. Hence: The continuous blowing to
        which one charge of ore or metal is subjected in a
        furnace; as, to melt so many tons of iron at a blast.
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     Note: The terms hot blast and cold blast are employed to
           designate whether the current is heated or not heated
           before entering the furnace. A blast furnace is said to
           be in blast while it is in operation, and out of blast
           when not in use.
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     3. The exhaust steam from and engine, driving a column of air
        out of a boiler chimney, and thus creating an intense
        draught through the fire; also, any draught produced by
        the blast.
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     4. The sound made by blowing a wind instrument; strictly, the
        sound produces at one breath.
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              One blast upon his bugle horn
              Were worth a thousand men.            --Sir W.
                                                    Scott.
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              The blast of triumph o'er thy grave.  --Bryant.
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     5. A sudden, pernicious effect, as if by a noxious wind,
        especially on animals and plants; a blight.
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              By the blast of God they perish.      --Job iv. 9.
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              Virtue preserved from fell destruction's blast.
                                                    --Shak.
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     6. The act of rending, or attempting to rend, heavy masses of
        rock, earth, etc., by the explosion of gunpowder,
        dynamite, etc.; also, the charge used for this purpose.
        "Large blasts are often used." --Tomlinson.
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     7. A flatulent disease of sheep.
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     Blast furnace, a furnace, usually a shaft furnace for
        smelting ores, into which air is forced by pressure.
  
     Blast hole, a hole in the bottom of a pump stock through
        which water enters.
  
     Blast nozzle, a fixed or variable orifice in the delivery
        end of a blast pipe; -- called also blast orifice.
  
     In full blast, in complete operation; in a state of great
        activity. See Blast, n., 2. [Colloq.]
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blast furnace - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  blast furnace
      n 1: a furnace for smelting of iron from iron oxide ores;
           combustion is intensified by a blast of air