the.com/intensity
the dial everyone claims they can't turn down but secretly never wants to
means the degree of force, energy, or concentration with which something is felt, done, or experienced.
from From Latin 'intensus,' the past participle of 'intendere' — literally 'to stretch out,' from 'in-' (toward) plus 'tendere' (to stretch). The same 'tendere' gives us 'tension,' 'tendon,' and 'tense'; the underlying image is a bowstring pulled taut, a thing strained to its limit. It reached English through French in the late medieval period, carrying that sense of something stretched tight with feeling or strength.
- physics
- power per unit area, falling off with distance squared
- sound
- a tenfold jump is just ten decibels louder
- earthquakes
- measures shaking felt, not energy released
- exercise
- high-intensity intervals burn fuel long after stopping
- language
- once meant tension, from Latin for stretched tight
hiroshima atomic bombing — thermal radiation at 7,000 degrees fahrenheit, killed 70,000 people instantly on august 6, 1945
mount everest summit push — climbers endure -40°f temperatures, 1/3 oxygen levels, and death zone altitude of 29,032 feet