waterwheel
A waterwheel turns slowly in a clear stream, lifting water into a wooden trough.
Noun: 1. A wheel that rotates by the direct action of water; a simple turbine. This is a mechanical device, often large, where flowing or falling water pushes against paddles or blades mounted around a wheel, causing it to turn. This rotation was historically used to power machinery like millstones. 2. A wheel with buckets attached to its rim; raises water from a stream or pond. This is a pump-like device, often called a noria. The wheel's rotation dips the buckets into a water source to fill them, then lifts and empties them at a higher point to move water for irrigation or other uses.
- As a power source:
- The old gristmill was powered by a massive waterwheel in the river.
- The invention of the waterwheel was a crucial step in early industrial development.
- As a water-lifting device:
- Farmers used a waterwheel to lift water from the canal to their fields.
- The ancient waterwheel, with its series of clay pots, still turns slowly, irrigating the garden.
- "Overshot waterwheel": A type where water is delivered to the top of the wheel. This design is highly efficient as it uses both the weight and the flow of the water.
- The restored mill features an overshot waterwheel that captures water from a raised aqueduct.
- "Undershot waterwheel": A type where water flows beneath the wheel, pushing the paddles. It is simpler but less efficient, suitable for slower, broader rivers.
- The undershot waterwheel in the lowland stream provided just enough power for the small workshop.
- Water mill (n): A building housing machinery (like millstones) driven by a waterwheel.
- They visited the historic water mill to see how flour was made.
- Noria (n): A specific term for a waterwheel designed primarily to raise water, often using pots or buckets.
- The iconic noria of Hama in Syria is a famous example of ancient hydraulic engineering.
- Turbine (n): A modern, more efficient rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow. The waterwheel is considered a simple, early form of turbine.
- Hydroelectric dams use advanced turbines, not traditional waterwheels, to generate power.
- Millwheel: Specifically denotes a waterwheel used to drive a mill.
- Water wheel (two words): An alternative spelling of the same device.
- To turn like a waterwheel: To rotate steadily and continuously.
- The old machinery groaned as it began to turn like a waterwheel.
- Waterwheel effect: A metaphorical term describing a cyclical or repetitive process.
- The constant back-and-forth of emails created a waterwheel effect that consumed his day.
A waterwheel turns slowly in a clear stream, lifting water into a wooden trough.
- a wheel that rotates by direct action of water; a simple turbine
- a wheel with buckets attached to its rim; raises water from a stream or pond