standard candle

3 definitions found

standard candle - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Standard \Stand"ard\, a.
     1. Being, affording, or according with, a standard for
        comparison and judgment; as, standard time; standard
        weights and measures; a standard authority as to nautical
        terms; standard gold or silver.
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     2. Hence: Having a recognized and permanent value; as,
        standard works in history; standard authors.
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     3. (Hort.)
        (a) Not supported by, or fastened to, a wall; as, standard
            fruit trees.
        (b) Not of the dwarf kind; as, a standard pear tree.
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     Standard candle, Standard gauge. See under Candle, and
        Gauge.
  
     Standard solution. (Chem.) See Standardized solution,
        under Solution.
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  Candle \Can"dle\, n. [OE. candel, candel, AS, candel, fr. L.
     candela a (white) light made of wax or tallow, fr. cand["e]re
     to be white. See Candid, and cf. Chandler, Cannel,
     Kindle.]
     1. A slender, cylindrical body of tallow, containing a wick
        composed of loosely twisted linen of cotton threads, and
        used to furnish light.
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              How far that little candle throws his beams!
              So shines a good deed in a naughty world. --Shak.
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     Note: Candles are usually made by repeatedly dipping the
           wicks in the melted tallow, etc. ("dipped candles"), or
           by casting or running in a mold.
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     2. That which gives light; a luminary.
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              By these blessed candles of the night. --Shak.
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     Candle nut, the fruit of a euphorbiaceous shrub (Aleurites  triloba
        ), a native of some of the Pacific islands; --
        socalled because, when dry, it will burn with a bright
        flame, and is used by the natives as a candle. The oil has
        many uses.
  
     Candle power (Photom.), illuminating power, as of a lamp,
        or gas flame, reckoned in terms of the light of a standard
        candle.
  
     Electric candle, A modification of the electric arc lamp,
        in which the carbon rods, instead of being placed end to
        end, are arranged side by side, and at a distance suitable
        for the formation of the arc at the tip; -- called also,
        from the name of the inventor, Jablockoff candle.
  
     Excommunication by inch of candle, a form of
        excommunication in which the offender is allowed time to
        repent only while a candle burns.
  
     Not worth the candle, not worth the cost or trouble.
  
     Rush candle, a candle made of the pith of certain rushes,
        peeled except on one side, and dipped in grease.
  
     Sale by inch of candle, an auction in which persons are
        allowed to bid only till a small piece of candle burns
        out.
  
     Standard candle (Photom.), a special form of candle
        employed as a standard in photometric measurements;
        usually, a candle of spermaceti so constructed as to burn
        at the rate of 120 grains, or 7.8 grams, per hour.
  
     To curse by bell, book and candle. See under Bell.
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standard candle - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  standard candle
      n 1: the basic unit of luminous intensity adopted under the
           Systeme International d'Unites; equal to 1/60 of the
           luminous intensity per square centimeter of a black body
           radiating at the temperature of 2,046 degrees Kelvin [syn:
           candle, candela, cd, standard candle]