Spindle

The term spindle may refer to:

Textiles and manufacturing

English customary units of measurement. Units customarily used by weavers, tailors, and other textile manufacturers are shown on the far left, with spindles the largest unit of measurement used for any purpose.

• A unit of measurement used by weavers and tailors, equal to 120 skeins or 14,400 yards (13.2 km)
• Spindle (textiles), a device to spin fibers into thread
• Spindle (tool), is the main rotating part of a machine tool, woodworking machine, etc.
• Segmented spindle, a spindle consisting of discrete elements that can be assembled and disassembled on the fly

Computing

• Spindle (hard disk drive), the axis or alternate name of a hard disk drive
• Spindle (disc packaging), a plastic case for bulk optical discs

Biology

• Spindle apparatus, a cellular structure organizing and separating the chromosomes during cell division
• Muscle spindle, a specialized innervated muscle structure involved in the reflex action and in proprioception
• Spindle neurons are a specific class of neurons that participate in signal transmission in the nervous system
• Sleep spindle, an EEG waveform that occurs during sleep
• The genus Euonymus (also called spindles) are deciduous and evergreen shrubs and small trees

Other uses

• Spindle (automobile), a part of a car's suspension system
• Spindle (furniture), an axially symmetric part of furniture or other woodwork
• Spindle (stationery), a device for holding paper documents
• Spindle (fire making), a straight wooden rod used in fire making
• Spindle torus, in mathematics, a self-intersecting torus
• Spindle (sculpture), a 40-foot sculpture made from cars in Berwyn, Illinois
• The Spindles, burial towers at Amrit, Syria
• Threaded rod connecting two door knobs

See also

• Axis of rotation
• Spindling
• Spindle transfer
• Spindel