(a.) The act of stretching or straining; the state of being
stretched or strained to stiffness; the state of being bent strained;
as, the tension of the muscles, tension of the larynx.
(a.) Fig.: Extreme strain of mind or excitement of feeling;
intense effort.
(a.) The degree of stretching to which a wire, cord, piece of
timber, or the like, is strained by drawing it in the direction of its
length; strain.
(a.) The force by which a part is pulled when forming part of
any system in equilibrium or in motion; as, the tension of a srting
supporting a weight equals that weight.
(a.) A device for checking the delivery of the thread in a
sewing machine, so as to give the stitch the required degree of
tightness.
(a.) Expansive force; the force with which the particles of a
body, as a gas, tend to recede from each other and occupy a larger
space; elastic force; elasticity; as, the tension of vapor; the tension
of air.
(a.) The quality in consequence of which an electric charge
tends to discharge itself, as into the air by a spark, or to pass from
a body of greater to one of less electrical potential. It varies as the
quantity of electricity upon a given area.
