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Why are most vehicles calle a 'car' What is its origin
Why is the principle of 'torque' called 'torque' and spelled 'torque'
Why is there such a convoluted formula to measure power as in 'HORSEpower'
Pressure plate- understandable but place a disc between it and a 'flywheel' [why is it fly, wheel] and the assembly is called a 'clutch' and why the word 'clutch'
Foot pound, inch pound- the amount of work or engery needed to raise an item weighing one pound a distance of one foot or one inch. So why is the term appled to a wrench that tightens nuts and bolts.
Camshaft- a shaft with egg shaped lobes which operates the valves. Why isn't it called a lobeshaft
Cylinder- a round hole in a engine block. But if you place the word 'master' in front of it, it refers to brakes, Place the word 'slave' in front of it and it refers to the clutch. Master is stop, slave is go!
Spark plug- it plugs a hole in the engine block but its main purpose is to ignite fuel. Shouldn't it be called a spark ignitor.
A tank that holds gasoline is called a gas tank but if the tank holds diesel, it's called a fuel tank not a diesel tank.
If a vehicle has a movable metal lid at the rear, the space below it is called a 'trunk'. But if the vehicle has a glass lid on the rear, it's called a 'hatchback' [hatch?, back?] and the space below it is called what, a storage area?
Isn't an intake manifold also a fuel mixture distributor? [not to be confused with the 'electric current to spark ignitor distributor]
Many decades ago they had a wagon hat went to the station to pick up passengers and luggage. When an engine was placed in it, they called it a stationwagon. the stationwagon was enlarged and it was tagged as a sports utility vehicle. It has a high center of gravity and drives like a truck, so it's not sport and it's not used as a utility vehicle, so now it's just called an SUV. But it seems that too many SUV's are too big, so the big stationwagon has been reduced in size but called a 'crossover'. Don't call it a stationwagon. That would be so 1960's
Some incorrect info there. Horsepower and torque are terms that have been around since before the automobile. And a master and slave cylinder are terms for the two cylinders in a hydaulic system, of which brakes and clutch are the common automotive applications. The master translates the input of the operator into hydraulic pressure; the slave takes that hydraulic pressure and translates it back into a mechanical motion. A hydaulic clutch system has both. So do brakes, but we typically refer to the 'slave' as the caliper or the wheel cylinder.
You forgot....you put "motor oil" in an engine. A motor is a device that turns electrical energy into mechanical energy. Shouldn't you be putting in "engine oil"?
> Why is the principle of 'torque' called 'torque' and spelled 'torque'
> Why is there such a convoluted formula to measure power as in 'HORSEpower'
Torque is rotational force. It is a term defined in physics and mechanical engineering.
Power is rate of change of energy and again, is defined in physics and mechanical engineering. Horsepower is one of many units with, as you might guess, a historical basis. A more practical unit is the watt.
If you want to see some really strange wording look up antique English car manuals. Then after your ribs heal from laughing look up post WW-2 car manuals the Japanese made from translated English to American.... Once i had to use those books to earn a living and it was funny, but always tee D off the boss man.
There is all sorts of strange wording in the industry like pillow blocks..... LOL
You forgot....you put "motor oil" in an engine. A motor is a device that turns electrical energy into mechanical energy. Shouldn't you be putting in "engine oil"?
First, there is no distinction in the English language berween a Motor and and Engine. They can be used interchangeably, and one term or the other has become customary in certain applications. Piston-driven airplanes have motors, and small boats are powered by motors, which use the same motor oil. For decades, "automobiles" was a term used for all self-propelled machines like trucks and tractors, and what we now call "cars" were called "motorcars". "Motor" is probably used more commonly than "engine" for automobile power, by both lay people and mechanics.
Second, oil is oil, and exactly the same oil can be used to lubricate all kinds of devices, which may be called motors or engines by the users. The oil industry calls it "motor oil" to distinguish it from oils that it produces for other lubricating applications.
Quote:
Camshaft- a shaft with egg shaped lobes which operates the valves. Why isn't it called a lobeshaft
The "lobe" is the projection on what would otherwise be a rounded shape. The "cam" it the egg-shaped thing that serves the purpose of transferring rotary motion to linear motion when the lobe of the cam rotates around to another part. Again, terms that have been in use before the automobile was invented.
from French came, from German Kamm, literally, comb, from Old High German kamb
First Known Use: 1777
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