discharge

discharge

1. the act of removing a load, as of cargo

2. Law

a. a release, as of a person held under legal restraint

b. an annulment, as of a court order

3. Physics

a. the act or process of removing or losing charge or of equalizing a potential difference

b. a transient or continuous conduction of electricity through a gas by the formation and movement of electrons and ions in an applied electric field

4. 

a. the volume of fluid flowing along a pipe or a channel in unit time

b. the output rate of a plant or piece of machinery, such as a pump

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discharge [′dis‚chärj]

(electricity)

To remove a charge from a battery, capacitor, or other electric-energy storage device.

(electronics)

The passage of electricity through a gas, usually accompanied by a glow, arc, spark, or corona. Also known as electric discharge.

(fluid mechanics)

The flow rate of a fluid at a given instant expressed as volume per unit of time.