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torsionmore about torsion

torsion


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Torsion  \Tor"sion\,  n.  [F.,  fr  LL  torsio,  fr  L.  torquere 
  tortum  to  twist.  See  {Torture}.] 
  1.  The  act  of  turning  or  twisting,  or  the  state  of  being 
  twisted;  the  twisting  or  wrenching  of  a  body  by  the 
  exertion  of  a  lateral  force  tending  to  turn  one  end  or 
  part  of  it  about  a  longitudinal  axis,  while  the  other  is 
  held  fast  or  turned  in  the  opposite  direction. 
 
  2.  (Mech.)  That  force  with  which  a  thread,  wire,  or  rod  of 
  any  material,  returns,  or  tends  to  return,  to  a  state  of 
  rest  after  it  has  been  twisted;  torsibility. 
 
  {Angle  of  torsion}  (of  a  curve)  (Geom.),  the  indefinitely 
  small  angle  between  two  consecutive  osculating  planes  of  a 
  curve  of  double  curvature. 
 
  {Moment  of  torsion}  (Mech.)  the  moment  of  a  pair  of  equal  and 
  opposite  couples  which  tend  to  twist  a  body. 
 
  {Torsion  balance}  (Physics.),  an  instrument  for  estimating 
  very  minute  forces,  as  electric  or  magnetic  attractions 
  and  repulsions,  by  the  torsion  of  a  very  slender  wire  or 
  fiber  having  at  its  lower  extremity  a  horizontal  bar  or 
  needle,  upon  which  the  forces  act 
 
  {Torsion  scale},  a  scale  for  weighing  in  which  the  fulcra  of 
  the  levers  or  beams  are  strained  wires  or  strips  acting  by 
  torsion. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  torsion 
  n  1:  a  tortuous  and  twisted  shape  or  position;  "they  built  a  tree 
  house  in  the  tortuosities  of  its  boughs";  "the  acrobat 
  performed  incredible  contortions"  [syn:  {tortuosity},  {tortuousness}, 
  {contortion},  {crookedness}] 
  2:  a  twisting  force  [syn:  {torque}] 




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