Flywheel
part
A heavy wheel that smooths out uneven rotation.
Principles and materials it uses
- Angular momentum — uses. A flywheel stores rotational energy: conserved angular momentum smooths a machine's motion.
Where it is used
- Watt steam engine — is part of. The flywheel evens out rotation.
- Internal combustion engine — is part of. The flywheel smooths out the engine’s strokes.
- Flywheel energy storage — is part of. A flywheel.
- Exercise bike — is part of. A flywheel.
- Potter’s wheel — is part of. A lower flywheel turned by the foot.
What it is a kind of
- Reaction wheel — includes. A flywheel.
- Wheel — is a kind of. A flywheel is a heavy wheel: once spun up, it keeps turning by inertia.