refractory period
"The absolute refractory period is like a toilet after you've flushed and there's no water in the back of the tank: You can push the handle all you want, but there's no discharge. Once the tank fills to half, you can flush, but its super weak. This is like the relative refractory period. Once the tank is totally full after the last discharge, you can get a good, effective flush once again. This is normal conduction."
"A refractory period is like the time when a camera flash is recharging so it can be used again."
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.