- Industry: Aviation
- Number of terms: 16387
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. (ASA) develops and markets aviation supplies, software, and books for pilots, flight instructors, flight engineers, airline professionals, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, aviation technicians and enthusiasts. Established in 1947, ASA also provides ...
A silvery-white, poisonous, metallic chemical element that is liquid at room temperature. Mercury’s symbol is Hg, its atomic number is 80, and its atomic weight is 200.59.
Mercury is heavy (more than 13 times as heavy as water), is a good conductor of electricity, and readily unites with other chemical elements. It is used in thermometers to measure temperature by the amount it expands or contracts as temperature changes. It is also used in barometers to determine the pressure of the atmosphere by measuring the height of the column of mercury the atmospheric pressure supports.
Industry:Aviation
A silvery-white, rare-earth chemical element. Lutetium’s symbol is Lu, its atomic number is 71, and its atomic weight is 174.97. Lutetium is the heaviest of the rare-earth elements and is used in nuclear technology.
Industry:Aviation
A silvery-white, soft, malleable, rare-earth chemical element. Europium’s symbol is Eu, its atomic number is 63, and its atomic weight is 151.96. Europium is used as a dopant for laser technology and as an absorber of neutrons in nuclear research.
Industry:Aviation
A silvery-white, very lightweight, rare-earth, metallic chemical element. Scandium’s symbol is Sc, its atomic number is 21, and its atomic weight is 44.956. A radioactive isotope of scandium is used in petroleum exploration.
Industry:Aviation
A simple automatic flight control system that controls the airplane only about its longitudinal, or roll, axis. The autopilot sensor detects any change in either roll or yaw and sends a signal to the aileron servos to produce a roll that counteracts the original roll. Single-axis autopilots are sometimes called wing levelers.
Industry:Aviation
A simple check valve that allows fluid to flow in one direction, but blocks its flow in the opposite direction. The reed is a flat piece of flexible material, often spring steel, fastened by one of its edges to one side of a hole. Fluid flowing from the side of the hole opposite the reed forces it off its seat, and the fluid flows through the hole. When fluid tries to flow through the hole from the side on which the reed is mounted, it forces the reed tightly against the hole, and no fluid can flow.
Reed valves are used in some types of simple air compressors and pulse jet engines.
Industry:Aviation
A simple form of reciprocating engine that completes its operating cycle in two strokes of its piston — one down and one up. When the piston moves up, fuel is pulled into the crankcase at the same time the fuel-air mixture inside the cylinder is being compressed. When the piston is near the top of its stroke, a spark plug ignites the compressed fuel-air mixture, and the expanding gases force the piston down. Near the bottom of its stroke, the piston uncovers an exhaust port, and the burned gases leave the cylinder. When the piston moves farther down, it uncovers an intake port, and fuel and air are forced from the crankcase into the cylinder.
Two-stroke-cycle engines are inefficient in their use of fuel, but their simplicity makes them popular for powering ultralight aircraft where light weight and low cost are paramount.
Industry:Aviation
A simple lens having one concave and one convex side. If the convex side has a longer focal length than the concave side, the lens is a diverging lens. But if the concave side has the longer focal length, the lens is a converging lens.
Industry:Aviation
A simple piece of test equipment used to check an electrical circuit for continuity. A continuity light consists of a flashlight battery and a bulb, connected in series with test leads used to complete the circuit.
The test leads are connected to the ends of an electrical circuit. If the circuit is continuous (there are no breaks, or opens, in the circuit) the light will illuminate. If the circuit is not continuous (there is an open, or a break, in it), the light will not illuminate.
Continuity lights are sometimes called bug lights because they are used to find the “bugs” in a circuit. More elaborate continuity testers have buzzers in addition to the light. The buzzer allows a circuit to be checked without having to watch the tester.
Industry:Aviation
A simple, single-engine airplane, used for training or noncommercial flying.
Industry:Aviation
