Part of the Data centers glossary:

An arc flash is an undesired electric discharge that travels through the air between conductors or from a conductor to a ground. The resulting explosion can cause fires and serious harm to equipment and people.

Next Steps

The temperature of an arc flash may exceed 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is capable of vaporizing metal and sending a blast of plasma and molten metal in all directions with extreme force. Generally, an electrical system must run at more than 480 V to supply an arc flash; the higher the voltage, the higher the risk. Damage is caused both by the explosion of the arc flash and by the heat radiating from the blast.

It is possible to protect against arc flash with the proper protective equipment and, more importantly, safety procedures and training. The IEEE has created a set arc flash standards that companies can use during facilities planning to help minimize the risk of arc flash in the first place.

This was last updated in May 2012
Posted by: Margaret Rouse

Related Terms

Definitions

  • ambient air cooling

    - Ambient air cooling is the use of naturally cool air surrounding a building, such as a data center, to reduce heat inside the facility. The use of ambient air and/or nearby water sources to maintai... (WhatIs.com)

  • Red Hat Storage (RHS)

    - Red Hat Storage is a new distributed file system based on the Gluster file system. (SearchServerVirtualization.com)

  • off-grid data center

    - An off-grid data center is a facility that produces all its own power and is not connected to any external source, such as the electrical power grid. (WhatIs.com)

Glossaries

  • Data centers

    - Terms related to data centers, including definitions about network operations centers (NOCs) and words and phrases about the storage, management and the transmission of data.

  • Electronics

    - Terms related to electronics, including definitions about electrical components and words and phrases about computers, laptops parts, digital cameras, televisions and home appliances.

  • Internet applications

    - This WhatIs.com glossary contains terms related to Internet applications, including definitions about Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery models and words and phrases about web sites, e-commerce ...

Dig Deeper

People Who Read This Also Read...

Ask a Question. Find an Answer.Powered by ITKnowledgeExchange.com

Ask An IT Question

Get answers from your peers on your most technical challenges

Ask Question

Tech TalkComment

Share
Comments

    Results

    Contribute to the conversation

    All fields are required. Comments will appear at the bottom of the article.
    Back to top