interval

[mii]

Hi.

I want to get the meaning of 'over' put in the following sentence;

Turn off the filament current over a 15-second interval.

Thanks in advance.

[Bridget]

Depending on what you want to happen, "over" means:

Turn off the filament current for/during a 15-second interval.

[Marius Hancu]

during/for the duration

[Bridget]

Problem is, it could mean either of these:

Turn off the filament current (for x amount of time) during a 15-second interval.

Turn off the filament current for 15-seconds.

I'd say it was the second meaning that was intended.

[OddThomas]

Some devices cannot be stopped abruptly. Perhaps yours is one of those. Perhaps your instructions mean that you should spend 15 seconds turning down the current to zero, slowly.

Look at the instructions before and after this instruction to see how they fit together. Especially look at the following instruction. Does the following instruction say to keep the current off for a certain time? If so, then I would say to take 15 seconds turning the current off. If the following instruction says to turn the current back on, then I would say to turn the current off quickly and leave it off for 15 seconds. (And I would say that "over" should be "for.")
Turn off the filament current over a 15-second interval. (Take 15 seconds to turn it off, slowly.)
Turn off the filament current for a 15-second interval. (Turn it off quickly and leave it off for 15 seconds.)

[Bridget]

Turn off the filament current over a 15-second interval. (Take 15 seconds to turn it off, slowly.)

That could also that mean it should be in an "off" state for 15 seconds.

[MrPedantic]

Turn off the filament current over a 15-second interval. (Take 15 seconds to turn it off, slowly.)

Turn off the filament current for a 15-second interval. (Turn it off quickly and leave it off for 15 seconds.)


If this relates to a genuine manual of some kind, it would not be a bad idea to include the part that OT has put in brackets as well.

MrP

[mii]

Thanks for all of your replies.
I first thought this sentence means that the operator turns off the current and then waits for 15sec before moving onto the next step as the action for turning it off consists of only pressing a button or a click-away operation.
I just have never seen or heard of this combination of words - 'turn off' and 'over' (a certain period), for to me turning something off sounds like a one simple action which is not a continuous type of phrase of verb.
So is this sentence correct to describe what I meant?

[OddThomas]

As you can tell by the many different answers, the preposition over causes confusion in this sentence, and we have different interpretations of its meaning. I think we all agree that the preposition for means only one thing: leave the switch off 15 seconds.

A switch that is a push button or flip (toggle) switch is instantaneous, yet other switches can be operated over time. Some switches of this type are dials, levers, or slides that can be operated manually. Others are programmable to be closed or opened gradually by computer. Both of these are useful if the load or device must not be started or stopped quickly.

[mii]

OddThomas,

Thanks for your answer.
I asked someone who knows this operation and he said usually for this kind of operation, you just click some button(s) on screen and then literally wait for a certain period of time.
So as you mentioned, maybe 'over' is not so a suitable word in this context.

Thanks again.

[Bridget]

OddThomas,

Thanks for your answer.
I asked someone who knows this operation and he said usually for this kind of operation, you just click some button(s) on screen and then literally wait for a certain period of time.
So as you mentioned, maybe 'over' is not so a suitable word in this context.

Thanks again.

How about "click the on-screen button and wait for/over a period of 15 seconds"?

[mii]

Bridget,

Yes, that writing is more intelligible I think.
Thanks!