the.com/spark plug
A tiny lightning bolt on demand, firing fifty times a second under your hood.
means A small threaded device screwed into an engine's cylinder that delivers an electric spark to ignite the fuel-air mixture, driving the engine's combustion.
from A plain compound of "spark" and "plug," both old Germanic-rooted English words: "spark" traces back to Old English "spearca," a fiery particle, while "plug" arrived around the 1600s likely from Dutch or Low German "plugge," a stopper or peg. The pairing only made sense once internal-combustion engines appeared in the late 19th century — a "plug" that screwed into the cylinder and made a "spark." From there it leapt metaphorically into everyday speech: a "spark plug" became any energetic person who gets a team or effort going.
- voltage
- Fires using 20,000 to 40,000 volts each spark
- heat
- Tip survives temperatures around 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit
- frequency
- Sparks roughly 50 times per second at highway speed
- electrode gap
- A precise gap thinner than a credit card
- materials
- Premium tips use iridium, harder than steel
champion spark plug — world's largest spark plug manufacturer, founded 1912, produces billions annually
ngk spark plug — japanese manufacturer, supplies 60% of original equipment for major automakers