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décision à intervenir
non épuration
Jul 27, 2020 06:51
3 yrs ago
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French term

à point à l'infini

French to English Science Physics application of force (between flat objects)
In a procedure for measuring soil contact resistance (for earthing purposes) FR-FR

Valeurs mesurées entre une électrode de XXXm² comprimée avec une force de YYY N à point à l'infini.

I think it get the idea: that this flat electrode is being considered as comprising an infinite number of points (just as a line can be); however, I can find little corroboration for this in the 'Net, still less any inkling of what it might be in EN.

I have a sneaky feeling that 'point' ought maybe to be in the plural, in fact — that would mke more sense, surely, for 'an infinity number of points'?
Proposed translations (English)
3 point at infinity/ideal point
2 +1 pressure applied evenly over the entire surface
3 repeatedly in a non-terminating process
2 a remote point

Discussion

Tony M (asker) Jul 30, 2020:
@ Cyril Thanks for your observation! In EN, such a formulation doesn't shock me, as we would readily say 'measured from ... to...'; the problem seems to arise because they have started with 'between...', which as you say expects 'and...', and then changed in midstream to be 'to...'.
Cyril Tollari Jul 29, 2020:
Same comment It's definitely point at infinity, but the bit "entre une..." without "et" is odd.
chris collister Jul 27, 2020:
The values being measured are electrical values, of course (potential or resistance). As such, the electric field extends to infinity (or at least theoretically). Hence by putting your second electrode "at a point at infinity" you get the resistance as distributed over all space (assumed homogeneous) rather than as distributed over just a small patch, e.g. between 2 adjacent electrodes. The force is just a reference value necessary for experimental repeatability or parhaps in conformity with some ISO norm.//I should have said that, to measure total resistance, you do need (at least) 2 electrodes: the first is the plate, pressed down with the requisite number of newtons, the second is the "point at infinity", though I would have expected "entre .... et un point à l'infini" rather than "entre ... à point à l'infini".
Tony M (asker) Jul 27, 2020:
@ Bashiqa Thanks, Chris! It's not exactly that they are measuring the force, just specifying how it is applied. I'm not at all sure it is even necessary to express this at all in EN...
And the plate electrode is laid on the ground in order to measure the 'contact resistivity' — hence why good overall contact is vital.
Bashiqa Jul 27, 2020:
Could it mean that the pressure exerted is the same all over the plate?
I.e. YYY N measured at an infinite number of points.
Can`t imagine why you would want to measure downward force like that.

Proposed translations

8 hrs
Selected

point at infinity/ideal point

Note from asker:
Thanks a lot, Juan ! Your answer, like Liz's earlier one, set me on the right track, and it was your form of wording that I eventually submitted and was validated by my customer.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
1 hr

pressure applied evenly over the entire surface

Presumably to indicate that the earth or whatever covers the plate and that there is not simply a jumble of rocks scattered over the plate which would not have the same electrical contact.
Note from asker:
Thanks, Chris! As it turns out, in this specific measuring technique, it isn't anything to do with the force being applied, which is what had originally misled me!
Peer comment(s):
agree Yolanda Broad
13 hrs
Thank you.
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3 hrs

a remote point

Improving the Reliability of Power Systems With More ...www.sestech.com › pdfPDF
specify in detail how to make soil resistivity measurements using the Wenner 4-pin ... between the grid and a remote point (at infinity). Close to the grid, this ...
by RD Southey - ‎2005 - ‎Cited by 18 - ‎Related articles

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Note added at 3 hrs (2020-07-27 10:23:33 GMT)
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IEEE Guide for Measuring Earth Resistivity ... - IEEE Xploreieeexplore.ieee.org › iel5
Keywords: Ground testing, soil resistivity, ground resistance, ground ... http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/standards.jsp, or contact the IEEE at the address listed ... vicinity of a ground electrode from or to a remote point external to the ground electrode ... for resistance measurements, the resulting values will be fairly close, but they ...
Note from asker:
Thanks a lot Liz, for your contribution which put me very much onto the right track. I feel constrained to select another answer, simply because it corresponds to the verion I used in the end. But your suggestion « m'a bien mis la puce à l'oreille », and I can't thank you enough for your help.
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1 hr

repeatedly in a non-terminating process

In the on line dictionaries ('Deepl.com/translator' and 'thefreedictionary.com') 'ad infinitum' and 'endlessly medium' are included in the possible definitions.
The given information describes values measured between electrodes, pressed or compressed with a specified force, which is continued repeatedly about half-way between extremes.

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Note added at 3 days 13 hrs (2020-07-30 20:15:38 GMT)
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The comments about ground resistance and contradictions about the force or pressure applied to the ground during a process were unusual as the original information states that earthing purposes were the reason for asking the question. That could be anything from building to road digging or surfacing, tree felling, planting, grass or hedge trimming.
A geometric answer to the question is 'a point at infinite or ideal point which is an idealized point at the end of a line',
It's a pity that my suggestion was such technical nonsense and that dictionary definitions, computer aids and word translations are such a bother, but the kudoz question asks for a translation from French to English.
Note from asker:
In this specialist subject, I fear general-purpose dictionaires and machine translation are rarely much help, still less when combined with a simplistic, word-by-word approach, which is rarely applicable in technical language. Not only does your suggestion represent wild over interpretation, it is also technical nonsense, and I'm afraid has nothing whatever to do with the context here.
On KudoZ, we seek help translating tough technical terms, after we have exhausted all the normal, basic resources — which included Internet "translation" tools and basic dictionaries; none of which can be regarded as authoritative sources unless / until they are corroborated by other, more authoritative and usually specialist resources. Mrofessional translation means a great deal more than just non-specialists plucking random words out of dictionary-dom, without the specialist knowledge to make any kind of meaningful interpretation of them as used together.
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