Glossary of engineering: A–L

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This glossary of engineering terms is a list of definitions about the major concepts of engineering. Please see the bottom of the page for glossaries of specific fields of engineering.

A

• Absolute electrode potential –
• Absolute motion –
• Absolute pressure –
• Absolute zero –
• Absorbance –
• AC power –
• Acceleration – rate at which the velocity of a body changes with time, and the direction in which that change is acting.
• Acid –
• Acid-base reaction –
• Acid strength –
• Acoustics –
• Activated sludge –
• Activated sludge model –
• Active transport –
• Actuator – a motor that translates control signals into mechanical movement.
• Acute angle –
• Adenosine triphosphate –
• Adhesion –
• Adiabatic process –
• Adiabatic wall –
• Aerobic digestion –
• Aerodynamics –
• Aerospace engineering –
• Afocal system –
• Agricultural engineering –
• Albedo –
• Algae –
• Algebra –
• Algorithm –
• Alkane –
• Alkene –
• Alkyne –
• Alloy –
• Alpha particle –
• Alternating current –
• Alternative hypothesis –
• Ammeter – an instrument that is used to measure current.
• Amino acid –
• Amorphous solid –
• Ampere – amp, a unit that describes the rate of flow of electricity (current).
• Amphoterism –
• Amplifier –
• Amplitude –
• Anaerobic digestion –
• Angular acceleration –
• Angular momentum –
• Angular velocity –
• Anion –
• Annealing (metallurgy) –
• Annihilation –
• Anode –
• ANSI – American National Standards Institute.
• Antigravity –
• Antimatter –
• Antineutron –
• Antiparticle –
• Antiproton –
• Applied engineering –
• Arc length –
• Archimedes' principle –
• Area moment of inertia –
• Arithmetic mean –
• Arithmetic sequence –
• Aromatic hydrocarbon –
• Arrhenius equation –
• Artificial intelligence – the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it.
• Assembly language –
• Atom –
• Atomic mass –
• Atomic number –
• Atomic packing factor –
• Atomic physics –
• Atomic structure –
• Audio frequency –
• Austenitization –
• Automation –
• 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 –
• Azimuthal quantum number –

B

• Bacteria –
• Balance sheet –
• Barometer –
• Baryon –
• Battery – electrochemical cells that transform chemical energy into electricity.
• Base –
• Baud –
• Beam –
• Beer–Lambert law –
• Belt –
• Belt friction –
• Bending –
• Benefit–cost analysis –
• Bending moment –
• Bernoulli differential equation –
• Bernoulli's equation –
• Bernoulli's principle –
• Beta particle –
• Binomial random variable –
• Biocatalysis –
• Biochemistry –
• Biology –
• Biomedical engineering –
• Biomimetic –
• Bionics –
• Biophysics –
• Biot number –
• Block and tackle –
• Body force –
• Boiler –
• Boiler (power generation) –
• Boiling point –
• Boiling-point elevation –
• Boltzmann constant –
• Boson –
• Boyle's law –
• Bravais lattice –
• Brayton cycle –
• Break-even analysis –
• Brewster's angle –
• Brittle –
• Bromide –
• Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory –
• Brownian motion –
• Buckingham π theorem –
• Buffer solution –
• Bulk modulus –
• Buoyancy –

C

• Calculus –
• Capacitance –
• Capacitive reactance –
• Capillarity –
• Carbonate –
• Carnot cycle –
• Cartesian coordinates –
• Casting –
• Cathode –
• Cathode ray –
• Cell membrane –
• Cell nucleus –
• Cell theory –
• Center of gravity –
• Center of mass –
• Center of pressure –
• Central force motion –
• Central limit theorem –
• Central processing unit –
• Centripetal force –
• Centroid –
• Centrosome –
• Chain reaction –
• Change of base rule –
• Charles's law –
• Chemical bond –
• Chemical compound –
• Chemical equilibrium –
• Chemical kinetics –
• Chemical reaction –
• Chemistry –
• Chloride –
• Chloroplast –
• Chromate –
• Chromosome –
• Circle –
• Circular motion –
• Civil engineering –
• Clausius–Clapeyron relation –
• Clausius inequality –
• Clausius theorem –
• Coefficient of performance –
• Coefficient of variation –
• Coherence –
• Cohesion –
• Combustion –
• Compensation –
• Compiler – a computer program that translates a high-level language into machine language.
• Compressive strength –
• Computational fluid dynamics –
• Computer –
• Computer-aided design –
• Computer-aided engineering –
• Computer-aided manufacturing –
• Computer engineering –
• Computer science –
• Concave lens –
• Condensed matter physics –
• Confidence interval –
• Conjugate acid –
• Conjugate base –
• Continuum mechanics –
• Control systems engineering –
• Convex lens –
• Corrosion –
• Cosmic rays –
• Coulomb –
• Coulomb's law –
• Covalent bond –
• Crookes tube –
• Cryogenics –
• Crystallization –
• Crystallography –
• Curvilinear motion –
• Cyclotron –

D

• Dalton's law –
• Damped vibration –
• Darcy–Weisbach equation –
• DC motor –
• Decibel –
• Definite integral –
• Deflection –
• Deformation (engineering) –
• Deformation (mechanics) –
• 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.
• Delta-wye transformer –
• Density –
• Derivative –
• Design engineering –
• Dew point –
• Differential pulley –
• Diffusion –
• Dispersion –
• Displacement (fluid) –
• Displacement (vector) –
• Distance –
• Doppler effect –
• Drag –
• Ductility –
• Dynamics –
• Dyne –

E

• Economics –
• Elastic modulus –
• Elasticity –
• Electric charge –
• Electric circuit –
• Electric current –
• Electric displacement field –
• Electric generator –
• Electric field –
• Electric field gradient –
• Electric motor –
• Electric potential –
• Electrical potential energy –
• Electric power –
• Electrical and electronics engineering –
• Electrical conductor –
• Electrical insulator –
• Electrical network –
• Electrical resistance –
• Electricity –
• Electrodynamics –
• Electromagnet –
• Electromagnetic field –
• Electromagnetic radiation –
• Electromechanics –
• Electron –
• Electronvolt –
• Electron pair –
• Electronegativity –
• Electronics –
• Endothermic –
• Energy –
• Engine –
• Engineering –
• Engineering economics –
• Engineering ethics –
• Environmental engineering –
• Engineering physics –
• Enzyme –
• Escape velocity –
• Estimator –
• Euler-Bernoulli beam equation –
• Exothermic –

F

• Falling bodies –
• Farad –
• Faraday –
• Farad –
• Faraday constant –
• Fermat's principle –
• Fick's laws of diffusion –
• Finite element method –
• 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.
• Fission –
• Fluid –
• Fluid dynamics –
• Fluid mechanics –
• Fluid physics –
• Fluid statics –
• Flywheel –
• Focus –
• Foot-pound –
• Fracture toughness –
• Fraunhofer lines –
• Free fall –
• Frequency modulation –
• Freezing point –
• Friction –
• Function –
• Fundamental frequency –
• Fundamental interaction –
• Fundamental theorem of calculus –
• Fundamentals of Engineering Examination –
• Fusion –

G

• Galvanic cell –
• Gamma rays –
• Gas –
• Geiger counter –
• General relativity –
• Geometric mean –
• Geometry –
• Geophysics –
• Geotechnical engineering –
• Gluon –
• Graham's law of diffusion –
• Gravitation –
• Gravitational constant –
• Gravitational energy –
• Gravitational field –
• Gravitational potential –
• Gravitational wave –
• Gravity –
• Ground state –

H

• Hadron –
• Half-life –
• Haptic – tactile feedback technology using the operator's sense of touch. Also sometimes applied to robot manipulators with their own touch sensitivity.
• Hardness –
• Harmonic mean –
• Heat –
• Heat transfer –
• Helmholtz free energy –
• Henderson–Hasselbalch equation –
• Henry's law –
• Hertz –
• 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.
• Hoist –
• Horsepower –
• Huygens–Fresnel principle –
• Hydraulics – the control of mechanical force and movement, generated by the application of liquid under pressure.
• Hydrocarbon –

I

• Ice point –
• Ideal gas –
• Ideal gas constant –
• Ideal gas law –
• Indefinite integral –
• Identity –
• Inertia –
• Infrasound –
• Integral –
• Integral transform –
• International System of Units –
• Interval estimation –
• Ion –
• Ionic bond –
• Ionization –
• Impedance – 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 –
• Isotope –

J

• 'Joule –

K

• Kalman filter – a mathematical technique to estimate the value of a sensor measurement, from a series of intermittent and noisy values.
• Kelvin –
• Kinematics –
• Kirchhoff's circuit laws –
• Kirchhoff's equations –

L

• Laminar flow –
• Laplace transform –
• LC circuit –
• Le Chatelier's principle –
• Lenz's law –
• Lepton –
• Lever –
• L'Hôpital's rule –
• Light –
• Linear actuator – a form of motor that generates a linear movement directly.
• Linear algebra –
• Linear elasticity –
• Liquid –
• Logarithm –
• Logarithmic identities –
• Lumped element model –

M

• Mach number –
• Machine –
• Machine code –
• Machine element –
• Machine learning –
• Maclaurin series –
• Magnetic field –
• Magnetism –
• Manufacturing engineering –
• Mass balance –
• Mass density –
• Mass moment of inertia –
• Mass number –
• Mass spectrometry –
• Material properties –
• Materials science –
• Mathematical optimization –
• Mathematical physics –
• Mathematics –
• Matrix –
• Matter –
• Maxwell's equations –
• Mean –
• Measures of central tendency –
• Mechanical advantage –
• Mechanical engineering –
• Mechanical filter –
• Mechanical wave –
• Mechanics –
• Mechanism –
• Median –
• Melting –
• Melting point –
• Meson –
• Metal alloy –
• Metallic bond –
• Mid-range –
• Midhinge –
• Mining engineering –
• Miller indices –
• Mobile robot –
• Mode –
• Modulus of elasticity –
• Molality –
• Molar concentration –
• Molar absorptivity –
• Molar mass –
• Molarity –
• Molding –
• Molecule –
• Molecular physics –
• Moment of inertia –
• Multibody system –
• Multidisciplinary design optimization –
• Muon –

N

• Nanoengineering –
• Nanotechnology –
• Navier–Stokes equations –
• Neutrino –
• Newtonian fluid –
• nth root –
• Nuclear binding energy –
• Nuclear engineering –
• Nuclear physics –
• Nuclear potential energy –
• Nuclear power –

O

• Ohm –
• Ohm's law –
• Optics –
• Organic chemistry –
• Osmosis –

P

• Parallel circuit –
• Parity (mathematics) –
• Parity (physics) –
• Paraffin –
• Particle accelerator –
• Particle displacement –
• Particle physics –
• Pascal's Law –
• Pendulum –
• Petroleum engineering –
• pH –
• Phase (matter) –
• Phase (waves) –
• Phase equilibrium –
• Photon –
• Physical chemistry –
• Physical quantity –
• Physics –
• Planck constant –
• Plasma physics –
• Plasticity –
• Pneumatics – the control of mechanical force and movement, generated by the application of compressed gas.
• Point estimation –
• Polyphase system –
• Power (electric) –
• Power (physics) –
• Power factor –
• Pressure –
• Probability –
• Probability distribution –
• Probability theory –
• Psi particle –
• Pulley –

Q

• Quantum electrodynamics –
• Quantum field theory –
• Quantum mechanics –
• Quantum physics –
• Quark –

R

• Regelation –
• Relative density –
• Relative velocity –
• Reliability engineering –
• Resistivity –
• Reynolds number –
• Rheology –
• Rigid body –
• 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 –
• Root-mean-square –
• Root-mean-square speed –
• Rotational energy –
• Rotational speed –

S

• Sanitary engineering –
• Saturation (chemistry) –
• Saturated compound –
• Scalar (mathematics) –
• Scalar (physics) –
• Scalar multiplication –
• Screw –
• Series circuit –
• 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.
• Shadow matter –
• Shear strength –
• Shear stress –
• Shortwave radiation –
• SI units –
• Signal processing –
• Simple machine –
• Siphon –
• Solid mechanics –
• Solid-state physics –
• Solid solution strengthening –
• Solubility –
• Sound –
• Special relativity –
• Specific heat –
• Specific gravity –
• Specific volume –
• Specific weight –
• Spontaneous combustion –
• State of matter –
• Statics –
• Statistics –
• Stefan–Boltzmann law –
• Stewart platform – a movable platform using six linear actuators, hence also known as a Hexapod.
• Stiffness –
• Stoichiometry –
• Strain –
• Strain hardening –
• Strength of materials –
• Stress –
• Stress-strain analysis –
• Stress-strain curve –
• Structural analysis –
• Structural load –
• Sublimation –
• 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 –
• Temperature –
• Tempering (metallurgy) –
• Tensile force –
• Tensile modulus –
• Tensile strength –
• Tensile testing –
• Tension member –
• Thermal conduction –
• Thermal equilibrium –
• Thermal radiation –
• Thermodynamics –
• Theory of relativity –
• Thévenin's theorem –
• Three-phase –
• Torque –
• Torsional vibration –
• Toughness –
• Trajectory –
• Transducer –
• Trigonometric functions –
• Trigonometry –
• Trimean –
• Triple point –
• Trouton's rule –
• Truncated mean –
• Truss –
• Turbine –
• Turbomachinery –
• Turbulence –

U

• Ultimate tensile strength –
• Uncertainty principle –
• Unicode –
• Unit vector –
• Unsaturated compound –
• Upthrust –
• Utility frequency –

V

• Vacuole –
• Vacuum –
• Valence –
• Valence band –
• Valence bond theory –
• Valence electron –
• Valence shell –
• Valve –
• van der Waals equation –
• van der Waals force –
• van 't Hoff equation –
• van 't Hoff factor –
• Variable capacitor –
• Variable resistor –
• Vector space –
• Venturi effect –
• Vibration –
• Viscoelasticity –
• Viscosity –
• Volt-ampere –
• Volt-ampere reactive –
• Volta potential –
• Voltage –
• Volumetric flow rate –
• von Mises yield criterion –

W

• Watt –
• Wave –
• Wavelength –
• Wedge –
• Weighted mean –
• Wet-bulb temperature –
• Wheel and axle –
• Winsorized mean –

X

• X-coordinate –

Y

• Y-coordinate –
• Yield –
• Young's modulus –

Z

• Zero Defects –
• Zeroth law of thermodynamics –

See also

• Engineering
• National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
• Fundamentals of Engineering Examination
• Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination
• Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
• Glossary of aerospace engineering
• Glossary of civil engineering
• Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering
• Glossary of mechanical engineering
• Glossary of structural engineering
• Glossary of architecture
• Glossary of areas of mathematics
• Glossary of artificial intelligence
• Glossary of astronomy
• Glossary of biology
• Glossary of calculus
• Glossary of chemistry
• Glossary of ecology
• Glossary of economics
• Glossary of physics
• Glossary of probability and statistics