aged R-value
nounConstruction
thermal resistance value established by using artificial conditioning procedures for a prescribed period of time.
Entries starting with A
215 entries.
aggregate
nounConstruction
Crushed stone, crushed slag or water-worn gravel used for surfacing a built-up roof system.
agricultural holder
An agriculturist who holds or owns a farm.
Aida cloth
An open-weave, even-weave fabric with a natural mesh, traditionally used for cross-stitch embroidery.
air admittance vent
nounPlumbing
a mechanical sewer vent that allows air to enter into the sewage system but does not allow exhaust of sewer gases, to aid the flow of sewage by providing air behind water, where a standard vent stack to atmosphere is not possible, by drawing in interior air but keeping harmful sewer gases contained.
air cell
A prechamber in an indirect injection internal combustion engine.
air drain
nounConstruction
An ample space left at the foot of foundation walls for the sake of dryness.
air hammer
nounConstruction
A hammer powered by compressed air.
air hose
A hose for conveying compressed air within a pneumatic system.
air line
nounRail equipment
A railroad following a very flat, straight route between two endpoints in order to minimize travel times, choosing the shortest, most direct route practical even if longer route that was more advantageous was available.
air-blown asphalt
nounConstruction
Asphalt produced by blowing air through molten asphalt to raise its softening point and modify other properties.
air-head
A horizontal channel providing ventilation in a mine.
airleave
An easement consisting of the right granted to a miner to ventilate onto a property.
airshaft
A device used for handling winding reels in the processing of web-fed materials, such as in continuous-process printing presses.
airspace
nounConstruction
The cavity in a cavity wall containing air for insulation.
airway
A roadway used for ventilation.
Albany slip
A glazing mixture made from a clay peculiar to the Upper Hudson Region of New York, used in some American stoneware pottery.
Alfa
A car made by Alfa Romeo.
alidade
nounSurveying
A type of sighting device used for measuring angles.
aligner
A system that produces integrated circuits by precision photolithography.
all-figure number
A telephone number consisting purely of digits, introduced in the 1960s to replace numbers that began with an alphabetic code for the exchange.
all-season tire
nounAutomotive
A tire designed to have long tread life in warm conditions, with rubber that remains soft down to freezing weather, for good performance in three seasons and passable performance in winter.
all-weather tire
nounAutomotive
A tire with rubber that remains soft in below-freezing conditions, but gives longer tread life in warm conditions than winter tires.
all-weather tyre
nounAutomotive
A tyre with rubber that remains soft in below-freezing conditions, but gives longer tread life in warm conditions than winter tyres
alligator
nounMetalworking
Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
alligator clip
A spring-loaded metal clip, usually attached to a wire and used to create a temporary electrical connection.
alligatoring
nounConstruction
The cracking of the surfacing bitumen on a bituminous roof or coating on a SPF roof, producing a pattern of cracks similar to an alligator's hide.
alloy wheel
nounAutomotive
A wheel made from an alloy other than steel (a lighter and more expensive one), as for example one of aluminium alloy or magnesium alloy, and (usually) styled so as to draw attention to its sportiness and desirability.
alloyant
nounMetallurgy
A material added to a metal (possibly itself an alloy) to alter its properties.
almond furnace
A kind of furnace used in refining to separate the metal from cinders and other foreign matter.
alpha acid
nounManufacturing
Any of a class of chemical compounds which collectively give hopped beer its characteristic bitter flavor.
alpha rolling
nounMetalworking
The hot-rolling of titanium alloys within the alpha phase temperature range.
alternator
An electric generator which produces alternating current through mechanical means.
aluminium bronze
nounMetallurgy
An alloy of copper with about 5% to 10% aluminium
aluminosis
nounConstruction
A structural defect resulting from the degradation of poor quality concrete.
AM
nounManufacturing
Initialism of additive manufacturing.
amalgam
nounMetallurgy
An alloy containing mercury.
AMEPD
Initialism of active matrix electrophoretic display (EPD).
American forge
nounMetallurgy
A forge for the direct production of wrought iron, differing from the old Catalan forge mainly in using finely crushed ore and working continuously.
amigurumi
nounManufacturing
Such a stuffed toy crocheted or knitted from yarn.
AMOLED
Abbreviation of active matrix OLED, a display technology for use in mobile devices and televisions.
amplifier
An appliance or circuit that increases the strength of a weak electrical signal without changing the other characteristics of the signal.
AMR
nounManufacturing
Initialism of autonomous mobile robot.
AMS
Initialism of aggregate measurement of support.
AMT
nounAutomotive
Initialism of automated manual transmission.
analog-to-digital converter
A device that converts an infinite resolution analog signal to a finite resolution digital signal.
ANC
Initialism of active noise control or active noise cancellation.
anchor pylon
A pylon that forms the endpoint of a high-power transmission line and uses horizontal insulators, necessary when interfacing with other modes of power transmission and, due to the inflexibility of the conductors, when significantly altering the direction of the pylon chain.
AND gate
A logic gate performing a Boolean logic AND operation.
andon
nounManufacturing
A system that notifies workers of a quality or process problem, sometimes with a means to pause production until the problem is resolved.
angel fingers
Tongues of flame that are a sign of impending rollover.
angel gear
The neutral gear when used while a vehicle is moving, especially when it is used to freewheel so as to save fuel or to coast downhill faster than a vehicle can go in gear.
angle bar
nounCarpentry
An upright bar at the angle where two faces of a polygonal or bay window meet.
angle brace
nounCarpentry
A brace across an interior angle of a wooden frame, forming the hypotenuse and securing the two side pieces together.
angle of attack
nounRail equipment
The angle between the plane of rotation of a wheel and the outer rail in the track curve.
anglesmith
nounManufacturing
A blacksmith who forges and shapes members such as angle irons.
angstrom
A unit of length equal to 10⁻¹⁰ meters (that is, one ten-billionth of a meter), approximately the size of an atom, and denoted by the symbol Å, used especially to measure the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation or distances between atoms.
anharmonicity
The deviation of a system from harmonicity (being a harmonic oscillator)
ANI
Initialism of automatic number identification.
anilox
A method used to provide a measured amount of ink to a flexo printing plate, involving a hard cylinder whose surface is covered in tiny cells that capture the ink.