machine

(noun)

A mechanical or electrical device that performs or assists in the performance of human tasks, whether physical or computational, laborious or for entertainment.

Related Terms

Examples of machine in the following topics:

  • Simple Machines

    • A simple machine is a device that changes the direction of a force or augments a force; simple machines fall into six categories.
    • Usually, the term "simple machine" is referring to one of the six classical simple machines, defined by Renaissance scientists.
    • When a device with a specific movement, called a mechanism, is joined with others to form a machine, these machines can be broken down into elementary movements.
    • Simple machines which do not experience frictional losses are called ideal machines.
    • Table of simple mechanisms, from Chambers' Cyclopedia, 1728. [1] Simple machines provide a "vocabulary" for understanding more complex machines.

  • X-Ray Diffraction

    • The XRD machine uses copper metal as the element for the x-ray source.
    • Now the XRD machines are equipped with semiconductor detectors.
    • These XRD machines record images in two ways, either continuous scans or step scanning.
    • To ensure that the incident beam is continuous, XRD machines are equipped with a Soller slit.

  • Photocopy Machines and Printers

    • A photocopier is a machine that prints copies of documents and images on paper.

  • Using Interference to Read CDs and DVDs

    • The data is stored either by a stamping machine or laser and is read when the data is illuminated by a laser diode in the disc drive.

  • Solenoids, Current Loops, and Electromagnets

    • Electromagnets are employed for many uses: from a wrecking yard crane that lifts scrapped cars, to controlling the beam of a 90-km-circumference particle accelerator, to the magnets in medical imaging machines (for other examples see ).

  • NMR and MRIs

    • MRI machines (as pictured in ) make use of the fact that body tissue contains a large amount of water and therefore protons (1H nuclei), which get aligned in a large magnetic field.

  • X-Ray Imaging and CT Scans

  • Sources of EMF

    • The general principle governing the EMF in such electrical machines is Faraday's law of Induction.

  • Energy Transformations

    • The efficiency of conversions describes the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion machine.

  • Muscles and Joints

    • Viewing them as simple machines, the input force is much greater than the output force, as seen in .