Glossary of engineering: A–L

The following is a list of definitions related to the Engineering field.

A

• Absolute motion-

• Absolute pressure-

• Absolute zero-

• Absorptivity-

• Acceleration-

• Acid-

• Acid-base reaction-

• Acoustics-

• Actuator- a motor that translates control signals into mechanical movement.

• Acute angle-

• Adhesion-

• Aerodynamics-

• Aerospace engineering-

• Agricultural engineering-

• Algebra-

• Algorithm-

• Alloy-

• Alpha particle-

• Alternating current-

• Alternative hypothesis-

• Ammeter- an instrument that is used to measure current.

• Ampere- amp, a unit that describes the rate of flow of electricity (current).

• Amplifier-

• Analytic trigonometry-

• Angle of contact-

• Angular acceleration-

• Angular momentum-

• Angular velocity-

• Annealing (metallurgy)-

• Anode-

• ANSI- American National Standards Institute.

• Antigravity-

• Antimatter-

• Arc length-

• Archimedes' principle-

• Area moment of inertia-

• Arithmetic sequence-

• Arrhenius equation-

• Artificial intelligence - the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it.

• Assembly language-

• Atom -

• Atomic packing factor -

• Atomic physics-

• Atomic structure -

• Automaton- an early self-operating robot, performing exactly the same actions, over and over.

• Autonomous vehicle - a vehicle equipped with an autopilot system, which is capable of driving from one point to another without input from a human operator.

• Avogadro's number-

B

• Base-

• Baud-

• Beam-

• Belt friction-

• Bending-

• Bernoulli equation-

• Binomial random variable-

• Biology-

• Biochemistry-

• Biomedical engineering-

• Biomimetic. See Bionics.

• Bionics- also known as biomimetics, biognosis, biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.

• Biophysics-

• Boiling point-

• Boiling point elevation-

• Boyle's law-

• Bravais lattice-

• Brayton cycle-

• Break-even analysis-

• Brittle-

• Buoyancy-

C

• Calculus-

• Capacitance-

• Capacitive reactance-

• Čapek, Karel, Czech author who coined the term 'robot' in his 1921 play, Rossum's Universal Robots.

• Carnot cycle-

• Cartesian coordinates-

• Cathode-

• Center of gravity-

• Center of pressure-

• Central force motion-

• Central limit theorem-

• Central processing unit-

• Centripetal force-

• Charles's law -

• Chemical bond -

• Chemical equilibrium-

• Chemical kinetics-

• Chemical reaction-

• Chemistry-

• Circle-

• Civil engineering-

• Compiler- a computer program that translates a high-level language into machine language.

• Compressive strength -

• Computer-

• Computer engineering-

• Computer science-

• Control systems engineering-

• Corrosion -

• Covalent bond -

• Cryogenics-

• Crystallography -

D

• Degrees of freedom - the extent to which a robot can move itself.

• Delta robot - a tripod linkage, used to construct fast-acting manipulators with a wide range of movement.

• Density -

• Design engineering-

• Ductility -

• Dynamics-

E

• Economics-

• Elastic modulus-

• Elasticity -

• Electrical and electronics engineering-

• Electricity-

• Electrodynamics-

• Electromagnet-

• Electronics-

• Engineering-

• Engineering economics-

• Environmental engineering-

F

• FIRST , or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - is an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 in order to develop ways to inspire students in engineering and technology fields.

• Fluid mechanics-

• Fluid physics-

• Fluid statics-

• Fracture toughness-

G

• Geometry-

• Geophysics-

• Geotechnical engineering-

H

• Hardness -

• Haptic- tactile feedback technology using the operator's sense of touch. Also sometimes applied to robot manipulators with their own touch sensitivity.

• Heat transfer-

• Hexapod (platform)- a movable platform using six linear actuators. Often used in flight simulators they also have applications as a robotic manipulator.

• Hexapod (walker) - a six-legged walking robot, using a simple insect-like locomotion.

• Hydraulics - the control of mechanical force and movement, generated by the application of liquid under pressure.

I

• Ion -

• Ionic bond -

• Impedence- electrical impedence is the measure of the opposition that a circuit presents to the passage of a current when a voltage is applied.

• Inclined plane-

• Industrial engineering-

• Inorganic chemistry-

K

• Kalman filter- a mathematical technique to estimate the value of a sensor measurement, from a series of intermittent and noisy values.

• Kinematics- the study of motion, as applied to robots. This includes both the design of linkages to perform motion, their power, control and stability; also their planning, such as choosing a sequence of movements to achieve a broader task.

L

• Lever-

• Linear actuator- a form of motor that generates a linear movement directly.

• Linear elasticity -

M

• Mach number-

• Machine-

• Maclaurin series-

• Magnetic field-

• Magnetism-

• Manufacturing engineering-

• Mass balance-

• Mass density -

• Mass number-

• Material properties-

• Materials science-

• Mathematical physics-

• Mathematics-

• Matrix-

• Matter-

• Mechanical engineering-

• Mechanics-

• Metallic bond -

• Mining engineering-

• Miller indices -

• Modulus of elasticity-

• Molecular physics-

N

• Nanoengineering-

• Nanotechnology-

• Nuclear engineering-

• Nuclear physics-

O

• Ohm-

• Ohm's law-

• Optics-

• Organic chemistry -

P

• Particle physics-

• Petroleum engineering-

• Phase (matter) -

• Phase (waves) -

• Phase equilibrium -

• Photon-

• Physical chemistry-

• Physics-

• Plasma physics-

• Pneumatics - the control of mechanical force and movement, generated by the application of compressed gas.

• Probability-

• Pulley-

Q

• Quantum physics-

R

• Robonaut - a development project conducted by NASA to create humanoid robots capable of using space tools and working in similar environments to suited astronauts.

• Robotics -

S

• Sanitary engineering-

• Screw-

• Servo- a motor that moves to and maintains a set position under command, rather than continuously moving.

• Servomechanism - an automatic device that uses error-sensing negative feedback to correct the performance of a mechanism.

• Shear strength -

• Simple machine-

• Solid-state physics-

• Solid solution strengthening-

• Solubility -

• Statics-

• Statistics-

• Stewart platform - a movable platform using six linear actuators, hence also known as a Hexapod.

• Stiffness -

• Strain-

• Strain hardening-

• Strength of materials-

• Stress-

• Stress strain curve-

• Subsumption architecture - a robot architecture that uses a modular, bottom-up design beginning with the least complex behavioral tasks.

• Surface tension-

• Superconductor-

• Superhard material-

• Surgical robot- a remote manipulator used for keyhole surgery

T

• Technical standard -

• Tensile modulus-

• Tensile strength -

• Thermodynamics-

• Toughness -

• Trigonometry-

U

• Unimate - the first off-the-shelf industrial robot, of 1961.

V

• Van der waals force-

• Viscoelasticity-

• Viscosity-

W

• Walking robot- a robot capable of locomotion by walking.

• Wedge-

• Wheel and axle-

Y

• Young's modulus-

See also

• Engineering

• Glossary of areas of mathematics

• Glossary of chemistry terms