Engineering Dictionary

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An alphabetical listing of General terms and items.

Half Bastion   Dico Tools
The half of a bastion made when bisected at the capital, consisting of one flank and one face. See bastion, demibastion.


Half Bridge   Dico Tools
Two active elements or strain gages.


Half Merlon   Dico Tools
The merlon at the end of a parapet. See merlon.


Half Moon   Dico Tools
See demilune, moon, ravelin.


Half Moon Barbican   Dico Tools
A outer defence in the form of a semi-circular barbican. See barbican.


Half-Duplex   Dico Tools
One way at a time data communication; both devices can transmit and receive data, but only one at a time.


Hall Keep   Dico Tools
Originally a type of rectangular keep, which later developed into a round design with more than one storey, including a main hall and apartments. See keep.


Hand Gun Loop   Dico Tools
A gun loop which was especially designed for the use of hand guns. See gun loop.


Handshake   Dico Tools
An interface procedure that is based on status/data signals that assure orderly data transfer as opposed to asynchronous exchange.


Hardcopy   Dico Tools
Output in a permanent form (usually a printout) rather than in temporary form, as on disk or display terminal.


Hardware   Dico Tools
The electrical, mechanical and electromechanical equipment and parts associated with a computing system, as opposed to its firmware or software.


Hauser   Dico Tools
The part of a German Ganerbenburg, which was occupied by a branch of the family to whom the castle belonged. (G. house).


Head Loss   Dico Tools
The loss of pressure in a flow system measured using a length parameter (i.e., inches of water, inches of mercury).


Head Pressure   Dico Tools
Pressure in terms of the height of fluid, P = yrg, where r = fluid density and y = the fluid column heights. Expression of a pressure in terms of the height of fluid, r = yrg, where r is fluid density and y = the fluid column height. g = the acceleration of gravity.


Heat   Dico Tools
Thermal energy. Heat is expressed in units of calories or BTU's.


Heat Sink   Dico Tools
1. Thermodynamic. A body which can absorb thermal energy. 2. Practical. A finned piece of metal used to dissipate the heat of solid state components mounted on it.


Heat Transfer   Dico Tools
The process of thermal energy flowing from a body of high energy to a body of low energy. Means of transfer are


Heat Treating   Dico Tools
A process for treating metals where heating to a specific temperature and cooling at a specific rate changes the properties of the metal.


Herisson   Dico Tools
A long iron spiked wooden beam set on a pivot. When rotated, it always presented a front of spikes, its purpose was to block passages and approaches.


Herse   Dico Tools
A door stuck with protruding iron spikes. The door was hinged at the top and suspended in the open position by a rope. This rope was cut or released to effect a surprise blockage of the gateway or passage where it was situated.


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Hersillon   Dico Tools
A beam stuck full of protruding iron spikes which was thrown into a breach to render it impassable.


Hertz (Hz)   Dico Tools
Units in which frequency is expressed. Synonymous with cycles per second.


Hexadecimal   Dico Tools
Refers to a base sixteen number system using the characters 0 through 9 and A through F to represent the values. Machine language programs are often written in hexadecimal notation.


Hilani Edifices   Dico Tools
Turreted defences of the Hittites (ie. the fortress of Sinjerli (10th to 8th centuries B.C.).


Hill Fort   Dico Tools
A fort which normally covered an entire hill top, sometimes as much as an area of several acres, and was enclosed by either a dry stone wall or earthen ramparts. A protective ditch was on either the inside or outside of the surrounding wall. See multivallate hill fort.


Hinged Drawbridge   Dico Tools
A drawbridge introduced during the 14th century. The far end of the drawbridge was attached by ropes or chains to long beams of wood which were fitted with counter balances on their inner ends. See bascule bridge, drawbridge.


Hirajiro   Dico Tools
A Japanese castle which was developed after the necessity of the yamajiro fortification declined with the cessation of civil war in the 17th century. These castles were built on the plains and served as administration centres of the surrounding area. See hirayamajiro, yamajiro. (J. flatland castle).


Hirayamajiro   Dico Tools
A Japanese castle which was constructed on a hill on a plain, thus taking the positional advantage of the surrounding area. See hirajiro, yamajiro. (J. flatland hill castle).


Hisn   Dico Tools
Fortress. (Arabic)


Hoard, Hoarding, Hourd   Dico Tools
A covered wooden gallery built out from the parapet of a tower or curtain wall supported on corbels, providing for vertical defence of the area below thus reducing the amount of dead ground. The hoardings had a major disadvantage since they were made of timber they were prone to firing, so they were eventually replaced by stone machicolations. In times of peace the hoardings could be removed. See brattice (2).


Hochschloss   Dico Tools
A type of German castle.


Hohenburg   Dico Tools
A German castle built on a naturally strong site, usually a hill, all the defences were constructed on the lines of approach and the entrances. Also known as a German hill castle. See schildmauer. (G. hohen, hill; burg, castle).


Hold   Dico Tools
Meter HOLD is an external input which is used to stop the A/D process and freeze the display. BCD HOLD is an external input used to freeze the BCD output while allowing the A/D process to continue operation.


Hollow Bastion   Dico Tools
A bastion where the ramparts extend only along the flanks and the faces. See bastion.


Honmaru   Dico Tools
The main or inner fortified compound of a Japanese castle dating from the 16th century. 


Hooke's Law   Dico Tools
Defines the basis for the measurement of mechanical stresses via the strain measurement. The gradient of Hooke's line is defined by the ratio of which is equivalent to the Modulus of Elasticity E (Young's Modulus).


Hori   Dico Tools
A Japanese term meaning ditch or moat.


Hornwork   Dico Tools
(1) An outwork consisting of two long curtains extending from the main works and was fronted by two demibastions connected by a short curtain, forming an outer bailey, it was smaller than a crownwork but serving the same purpose. (2) An earth spur provided with banks and ditches.


Horse Shoe   Dico Tools
A small outwork, round or oval in shape, provided with a parapet.


Host   Dico Tools
The primary or controlling computer in a multiple part system.


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Hourd, Hourding   Dico Tools
See hoard.


Hurdica   Dico Tools
See hoard.


Hurdle   Dico Tools
A basket used to hold earth, woven of willow; used in the building of defensive earthworks. See gabion.


Hydrogen Ion Activity (aH+)   Dico Tools
Activity of the hydrogen ion in solution. Related to hydrogen ion concentration (CH+) by the activity coefficient for hydrogen (f H+).


Hysteresis   Dico Tools
The difference in output when the measurand value is first approached with increasing and then with decreasing values. Expressed in percent of full scale during any one calibration cycle. See also Deadband.


Hysteresis (Electrode Memory)   Dico Tools
When an electrode system is returned to a solution, equilibrium is usually not immediate. This phenomenon is often observed in electrodes that have been exposed to the other influences such as temperature, light, or polarization.



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