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Definition of flywheel
: a heavy wheel for opposing and moderating by its inertia any fluctuation of speed in the machinery with which it revolves; also : a similar wheel used for storing kinetic energy (as for motive power)
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Recent Examples of flywheel from the Web
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Between the two is a lightweight, single-mass flywheel.
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A flywheel could physically drain excess electricity off the grid, turning the sun’s electrons into movement and heat.
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Operating since 2015, the system uses grid electricity to accelerate the flywheels, which maintain their speed through inertia.
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The flywheel stores the energy in its continuous motion.
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When power is needed on the grid, the flywheel connects to a generator, and its momentum turns the generator’s shaft to produce electricity.
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The rider pull-starts the engine at the beginning of the day, and a magneto attached to the flywheel charges the capacitors.
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Progress in computers, or anyway in semiconductors, has been subject to Moore’s Law, the exponential flywheel that has doubled capacity every two years.
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As any watchmaker will tell you, gears, bearings, drives, and flywheels have to be constructed in a number of different planes to accomplish something mechanically useful.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flywheel'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
A heavy wheel attached to a rotating shaft, a flywheel smooths out delivery of power from a motor to a machine. The inertia of the flywheel moderates fluctuations in the speed of the engine and stores the excess energy for intermittent use. In automobile engines, the flywheel smooths out the pulses of energy provided by combustion in the cylinders, and provides energy for the compression stroke of the pistons. In power presses, the punching, shearing, and forming are done in a fraction of the operating cycle. During the rest of the cycle, the speed of the flywheel is built up by a comparatively low-powered motor, and most of the required energy for the cycle is provided by the flywheel.
First Known Use of flywheel
1784
FLYWHEEL Defined for English Language Learners
flywheel
playDefinition of flywheel for English Language Learners
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: a heavy wheel that is part of a machine and that controls the speed of machinery
Learn More about flywheel
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See words that rhyme with flywheel Spanish Central: Translation of flywheel Nglish: Translation of flywheel for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about flywheel
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