Here in the USA, we seem to equate the above word with gas or steam turbine engines, quite forgetting that it refers primarily to a special type of wheel. What image comes to mind for you Brits and others? If you say, "headgear," you'll have to go to a beer thread!

Gas or steam turbines are what comes to my mind. Parsons (a Brit) invented the steam turbine; Whittle (another Brit) invented the gas turbine.

Richard English

Richard, somehow I just knew it was a Brit who invented it!

Parsons (a Brit) invented the
steam turbine; Whittle (another Brit) invented the gas turbine.
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Hmmm... I think there's some controversy about whether Whittle of Von Ohain built the first practical gas turbine, but you're not German, soooo...

Is the term, "turbo" absurdly over-used in the UK, as it is here? An ordinary automobile water pump is a water turbine, but nobody brags about "turbo cooling systems," yet they advertise "turbo" toilets, toothpaste, and floor wax.

quote:

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
Parsons (a Brit) invented the
steam turbine; Whittle (another Brit) invented the gas turbine.
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Hmmm... I think there's some controversy about whether Whittle of Von Ohain built the first practical gas turbine, but you're not German, soooo...

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Sometimes Richard reminds me of Chekov in Star Trek - whenever an invention or innovation (of any kind in any field) is mentioned Chekov joins in with the information that the Russians invented it first.

Non curo ! Si metrum no habet, non est poema.

Read all about my travels around the world here.
Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog.

I only make this point if it's true!

After all, the Americans invented quite a lot as well - the safety pin is just one of the more useful American inventions.

Richard English

the safety pin is just one of the
more useful American inventions.
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But the needle, at least in literary terms, was no doubt a British invention!

I'm still curious as to whether the prefix, "turbo," is as hyperbolically misused elsewhere as it is in the USA. Also, we seem to have forgotten that "digital" refers to fingers, not computers!

All I can say, Asa, is that we must hang out with different people....or "turbo" is used a lot more in the northwest than in the midwest. The only time I have heard it said is with a "turbo jet engine." I must say, I have no idea what it means.

quote:

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Sometimes Richard reminds me of Chekov in Star Trek - whenever an invention or innovation (of any kind in any field) is mentioned Chekov joins in with the information that the Russians invented it first.

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I do admire Richard for his loyalty to his country. One does not see that in the U.S., except during war or after tragedies such as 9/11.

I do admire Richard for his loyalty to his country.
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Richard DOES have reason in this case. Long has the debate raged on whether Whittle or Ohain ran an engine first, though most records show that Whittle did. Perhaps if the British War Ministry had been as inventive as the Germans, there would have been no controversy. In any case, it appears to be a case of parallel evolution rather than one copying the other. There is even evidence, based on patents, that Nicola Tesla invented a gas turbine engine before either of them, but he didn't do anything with it, much as his inventing radio, but leaving it to Marconi to capitalize on the invention.

I guess the bottom line is that it's pretty hard to be completely original!

I agree, Asa. That seems to be the case in most inventions or discoveries. Look at the disputes about the identification of the AIDS virus.

A turbo-jet is the normal type of jet engine where the incoming air is compressed by a turbine, mixed with the fuel and ignited. The power obtained from the burning fuel-air mixture provides the thrust that propels the aeroplane. A small part of that thrust is used to drive a secondary turbine which then drives the main turbine which then goes on to compress more air. Very simple and that was Whittle's invention.

It's called a turbo-jet to distinguish it from jets that have no turbine, although there are very few of them around.

One of the most successful was the ramjet used in the V1 flying bombs that rained down on us during WW2. However, ramjets, having no turbine, have to rely on the air forced into them from the forward motion of the engine and thus need to be launched by means of a catapult of some sort so that they reach sufficient speed for the engine to run. Probably not a good idea on a passenger aeroplane!

The turb-prop engine is simply a jet turbine engine where the power of the driven turbine is used to drive a propeller. Propellers have a better low-speed performance than jets which is why they are still used in smaller and short-distance aircraft.

Richard English

Turbo over here seems to be restricted to contexts in which there is some engine involved (not just a turbo). So it would seem odd to see it applied to toothpaste but not, say, to the power of a vacuum cleaner.

Richard, your explanation has made me wonder how a jet turbine gets started. If it's not turning, it can't run, and if it's not running it can't be made to turn. Is there a secondary source of power for startup?

Yes. It has an electric starter, just like a car. They are geared to run at a higher speed, of course, since turbines spin at many tens of thousands of revolutions per minute - not just a measly 7 or 8 as do most car engines.

Richard English

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...not just a measly 7 or 8...

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"Measly" - Original definition: "Infected with Measles" also, when used to describe beef or pork, "infected with larval parasites."

Similarly "Lousy" - Original definition: "Infected and/or covered with lice"


Odd how some rather stomach-turning terms can lose their nauseating qualities over time. (New thread topic? Any other examples come to mind?)

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Any other examples come to mind?

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"Poxy" is one example.

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard English:
Yes. It has an electric starter, just like a car. [Etc.]

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Thanks, interesting.

There are now mineature gas turbine engines for model airplanes that are no larger than soda (or beer) cans, that run at speeds in excess of 150,000 RPM.

I don't think I'd want to get close to one of those!

A pity, Paul, as the Brits are at the forefront of the homebuilt turbine engine movement. Go to WWW.GTBA.CO.UK and check it out! The South Africans build the smallest commercial ones, and the French built the first successful commercial ones, but the Brits have done the bulk of the experimentation.

In that case, Asa, I'd prefer to admire from a distance. Sounds highly dangerous!

I'd prefer to admire from a distance. Sounds highly dangerous!
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The engines themselves have proven very safe; fire following crashes has sometimes been a bit worrysome, however. Dumping paraffin (kerosene) onto a red hot engine tends to make for some really spectacular "special effects!"

Now, why do the Brits say, "paraffin," but the Yanks say, "kerosene?" In the US, paraffin refers only to its solid state, i.e. paraffin wax.

For exactly the same reason that the British say "petrol" and the Americans say "gasoline"! Or that we say "bonnet" and you say "hood". Or that we say "boot" and you say "trunk".

And so on (almost) for ever.

Richard English

I digress, I know, but is a "bonnet" a "hood" or a "hat"?

On a car it's a hood; on a head it's a hat.

Richard English

On a car it's a hood; on a head it's a hat.
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RE, I spent a good many years repairing British motor cars, and have on several occasions had the bonnet support fail. Thus have I worn a car bonnet!

Asa of the lumpy skull