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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
My tiny little brain had it backwards. According to M-W on line, in a solenoid, the input is electrical and the output is mechanical. So
A) I thought the output of the solenoid in the car was electrical so what gives here?
and
2) What *do they call it if the input is mechanical?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Faldage: the starter motor has a clutch that has to be engaged to crank engine, and solenoid moves one of the disks, I guess. Too bad Geoff isn't here, as an auto mechanic he would really know how to describe it. Washing machines also use one when going from wash to spin. I can't think of any devices that move core to affect current flow. A lot of things that used to use solenoids for light loads now use servo motors regulated by transistor circuits.
Wonderful to have the board so much more active, and windows change so quickly. Bill
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
When I was a boy, cars were for strong men only. You had to insert a crank into a small round opening below the radiator, and use a good bit of strength to turn motor over, compressing gas-air mixture in cylinders so spark could ignite it. Never saw it work on first try. And my father derived a substantial part of his income from treating wrist fractures when motor backfired.
Boss Kettering, whose inventions made key starting possible made GM what it is today because it made it possible for women to drive, doubling car sales.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
Bill, if you remember the days when cars had to be cranked, you must also remember electric cars. James Thurber, in his hilarious accounts of his youth, noted that electric cars were favorites of women. Now we know why; it never occured to me that it was because they were self-starting - I assumed it was because they didn't go fast.
Now we are on the verge of a return of the electric car. Plus ça change ...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Bob: There was one rich lady in my town who had a Franklin electric. Spookily quiet. No idea what its round trip distance was. There was also a guy who had a Stanley Steamer. Took over an hour to get steam up. And roundtrip was at times restricted by need to get suitable water. They had acceleration no internal combustion vehicle could match.
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
Stanley Steamer -- a name now used for a carpet-cleaning service, I believe. An interesting case of recycling.
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