take the pulse of

The rhythmical throbbing of arteries produced by the regular contractions of the heart, especially as palpated at the wrist or in the neck.

1. A regular or rhythmical beating.

2. A single beat or throb.

3. A brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity: a pulse of current; a pulse of radiation.

4. Any of a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by a brief sudden change in a quantity.

Physics

1. A brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity: a pulse of current; a pulse of radiation.

2. Any of a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by a brief sudden change in a quantity.

The perceptible emotions or sentiments of a group of people: "a man who had . . . his finger on the pulse of America" (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.)

To pulsate; beat: "The nation pulsed with music and proclamation, with rages and moral pretensions" (Lance Morrow).

Physics To undergo a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by brief, sudden changes in a quantity.