mechano-, mechan-; mechanico-; machin-

(Greek makhana, machana > Latin machina: machine, device, tool; an apparatus for applying mechanical power to do work; mekhanikos > machynen, decide a course of action, contrive, plot contrivance; a machine or the workings of machines)

mechanical energy
The sum of the kinetic (motion) energy and the potential energy of an object.
mechanical engineer (s), mechanical engineers (pl) (nouns)
A person who deals with the design, construction, and uses of machines: "James was a mechanical engineer who was involved in modernizing machines."
mechanical engineering (s) (noun)
1. The branch of engineering concerned with the generation, transmission, and utilization of heat and mechanical power, and with the production and operations of tools, machinery, and their products.
2. A division of engineering concerned with the efficient design, operation, and maintenance of machines: "Mechanical engineering involves the design, the production, and the use of machinery and tools, as well as the generation and transmission of heat and mechanical power."
mechanical equivalent of heat
1. Thermodynamics, in which a constant which expresses the number of units of heat in terms of a unit of work, typically expressed as the amount of heat transfer required to raise the temperature of one gram of water from 14.5 to 15.5 degrees centigrade.
2. The amount of mechanical energy equivalent to a unit of heat.
3. The number of units of work or energy equal to one unit of heat; such as, 4.1858 joules, which equals one small calorie.
mechanical pencil (s), mechanical pencils (pl) (nouns)
A pencil with a plastic or metal case and a thin replaceable lead which can be extended when the point is worn away by twisting the outer casing.
mechanical property
1. Any property of a material which influences its behavior when it is exposed to external forces; such as, its hardness or elasticity.
2. A property which involves a relationship between stress and strain or a reaction to an applied force.
mechanical refrigeration
1. A standard process of refrigeration, in which a motor-driven compressor drives the circulation of a refrigerant through a closed loop, so that the refrigerant withdraws heat energy from the load (space to be cooled) as it changes from a liquid to a gaseous state.
2. The removal of heat by utilizing a refrigerant subjected to cycles of refrigerating thermodynamics and employing a mechanical compressor.
mechanical styptic
1. Any hemostatic device, or material, that facilitates coagulation of bleeding vessels.
2. A mechanical styptic which assists the clotting of blood by mechanical means.
mechanical theory of heat
The principle of heat which consists of motions of the particles that make up a substance.
mechanical weathering
1. The erosion, disintegration, or breakdown of rock into smaller fragments by natural physical agents with no chemicals involved; some agents of mechanical weathering are frost, tree roots, etc.
2. A collective term for all of the natural physical processes which break rock into smaller fragments without chemical changes; for example, wind, abrasions, temperature changes, frost actions, and biological effects; such as, plant root extensions or animal burrowing.
mechanicals (pl) (used with singular verbs) (noun)
1. The working parts of a machine: "Mechanicals are used especially in cars."
2. A completed assembly of artwork and copy: "The mechanicals are normally mounted on a sheet of stiff paper."
mechanician (s), mechanicians (pl) (nouns)
A person who is skilled in the design or construction of machinery.
mechanico-chemical (adjective)
Concerning or dependent on both mechanics and chemistry: "Mechanico-chemical is applied specifically to the sciences of galvanism, electricity, and magnetism; all of which require the applications of the functions of mechanics and chemistry."
mechanics (pl) (used as as singular) (noun)
1. The branch of physics that seeks to formulate general rules for predicting the behavior of a physical system under the influence of any type of interaction with its environment: "Mechanics generally involves the motion of large objects."

"Mechanics deals with motion and with the reaction of physical systems with internal and external forces which produce movements."

"The field of mechanics is subdivided into statics and dynamics; depending on the types of systems and phenomena that are involved."

  • Dynamics is usually subdivided into kinematics (motion without reference to force or mass) and kinetics (forces that cause motions of bodies).
  • Statics deals with bodies at rest.
2. The machinery or working parts of something: "Barney, the mechanic, checks out the mechanics of a car before he does anything with the non-mechanical aspects."
3. The procedure involved when something is done or used: "Jerry was receiving instructions regarding the mechanics of his musical instrument."
mechanism (s), mechanisms (pl) (nouns)
1. A process that has been set up to accomplish a particular objective: "The company director developed a mechanism for generating more revenue."
2. A piece of machinery or a part or group of parts that have a particular function: "A can-opener is a simple mechanism used to open cans."

"Cameras have had shutter mechanisms that were used to take good pictures."

3. A system or process which is used to produce a particular result: "The legislature is still trying to come up with a legal mechanism to prevent lobbyists from having too much influence on government decisions."
4. Procedures for thinking or behaving that help or protect people in specific ways: "Local officials are making efforts to provide mechanisms that can help people who are suffering from the terrible results of the tornadoes that destroyed homes and seriously injured or killed family members."