Shower

shower

1. a brief period of rain, hail, sleet, or snow

2. a large number of particles formed by the collision of a cosmic-ray particle with a particle in the atmosphere

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shower [′shau̇·ər]

(meteorology)

Precipitation from a convective cloud; characterized by the suddenness with which it starts and stops, by the rapid changes of intensity, and usually by rapid changes in the appearance of the sky.

(nuclear physics)

cosmic-ray shower

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shower bath, shower

An apparatus for spraying water on the body, usually from above.

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Shower 

a water treatment in which the body is acted on by water (or steam) in the form of a dense stream or numerous spraying streams. Showers are used for hygienic as well as therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. Temperature and mechanical stimulation constitute the basis of the physiological effect of showers on the organism. The types of showers include showers with constant water temperature—cold (below 20°C), cool (20°-33°C), tepid (34°-36°C), warm (37°-39°C), and hot (40°C and above); showers with changing water temperature; and showers with low pressure (0.03-0.1 MN/m² [meganewton per square meter], or 0.3-1 kgf/cm² [kilograms-force per square centimeter]), medium pressure (0.15-0.2 MN/m² [1.5-2 kgf/cm²]), and high pressure (0.3-0.4 MN/m² [3-4 kgf/cm²]). Varying combinations of temperature and mechanical stimulation during the shower make it possible to receive either tonic or sedative effects. Stationary installations and mobile installations for use under field conditions are used for hygienic showers. The following types of showers are used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes: an ordinary stream shower; a spray shower with very fine streams; a needle shower with water passing through a spraying screen through vertical tubes with a diameter of 0.5-1 mm; a circular shower in the form of fine streams of water directed horizontally at a person’s body from all sides; an upward-moving stream (perineal) shower; a Charcot shower in the form of a dense spray of water under a pressure of 0.15-0.3 MN/m² (1.5-3 kgf/cm²); a fan shower in which a dense spray of water is broken up in the form of a fan; and a Scottish shower in the form of two dense sprays of water of contrasting temperatures (25°-10°C and 37°-45°C), which are alternately directed at the patient (the dense spray is broken up into a fan when water is directed at the chest and the genital areas). Temperature and water pressure for all showers are regulated through a water-distribution shower “department.” Whirlpool baths are also used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. Showers are an effective method of therapy and prophylaxis for functional disorders of the nervous system, chronic atonic and spastic constipation, and metabolic disturbances. Showers with gradually reduced water temperature are used to train and harden the organism. In general, contraindications are the same as those for hydrotherapy.

V. T. OLEFIRENKO

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Shower 

a brief period of atmospheric precipitation, usually rain (sometimes wet snow or sleet), distinguished by its great intensity (as much as 100 mm per hour). Showers originate in unstable air masses in a cold front or as a result of convection.