ATEX is an abbreviation for "ATmosphere EXplosible". At the same time, ATEX is the abbreviated name of the European Directive 2014/34/EC concerning the placing on the market of explosion-proof electrical and mechanical equipment, components, and protective systems. Intrinsically safe equipment is defined as "equipment and wiring which is incapable of releasing sufficient electrical or thermal energy under normal or abnormal conditions to cause ignition of a specific hazardous atmospheric mixture in its most easily ignited concentration." (ISA-RP12.6) This is achieved by limiting the amount of power available to the electrical equipment in the hazardous area to a level below that which will ignite the gases.