Dictionary of Energy
Covering all aspects of energy and its role in society, this unique text provides a comprehensive and organized body of knowledge on what is certain to become an increasingly vital area of scientific study in the 21st century.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Dictionary of Energy
W: W W-value
W wildcat
W
watt.
wafer
Electricity. a thin, flat sheet of semiconductor material (e.g., photovoltaic material) made by cutting it from a single crystal or ingot.
wagonway
History. the earliest known type of railway, a track with wooden or iron rails intended to move wagons of coal easily; built in Britain. Also spelled waggonway.
walking dragline
Coal. a large-capacity shoveling machine designed to expose deeply buried coal seams that smaller machines cannot reach; it walks along the surface by the alternate movement of large mechanical feet.
walking plow
History. the earliest form of plow, pulled by oxen or horses with a human walking behind to control the animal and maintain the plowing line.
walking plow The walking plow, now generally replaced by mechanized plows in industrialized countries, is relatively light in weight and usually without wheels.
wall energy
Physics. a term for the energy per unit area existing between two ferromagnetic domains that have different orientations.
Wankel engine
Transportation. a vehicle engine operating with a three-part rotor that turns in a close-fitting chamber, so that the power stroke is applied sequentially to each of the faces of the rotor. Compared to a reciprocating engine, a Wankel engine is simpler, lighter, contains fewer moving parts, and can burn lower octane fuel. However, it produces incomplete combustion and therefore high emissions and typically consumes more...
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