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Bearing
- Mechanical Meaning:
- Definition: A bearing is a component designed to reduce friction and wear between two moving parts. It supports and guides the motion of rotating or sliding parts.
- Types: Bearings can be of various types, such as ball bearings or roller bearings, each suited to specific types of loads and motion.
- Examples: Babbitt bearings between a connecting rod and crankshaft in an engine, or wheel bearings in vehicles, which require periodic lubrication to function smoothly.
- Surveying and Navigation:
- Horizontal Angle: In surveying and navigation, bearing refers to the horizontal angle measured clockwise from a reference direction, typically true north.
- Usage: It’s used to describe the direction or orientation of a line, object, or signal relative to a fixed point, often represented in degrees (e.g., 90 degrees east of north).
- Electromagnetic Waves:
- Directional Systems: In radio and radar systems, bearing indicates the horizontal direction from which an electromagnetic wave, such as a radio signal, is arriving. This is crucial for directional finding and navigation.
Bearing encompasses multiple meanings depending on the context:
- In mechanical engineering, it refers to a component that reduces friction between moving parts.
- In surveying and navigation, it denotes the horizontal angle from a reference direction.
- In radio and radar systems, it indicates the direction from which signals arrive.
Understanding these contexts helps clarify how “bearing” is used across different fields and applications.
See related terms:
- Angle bearing
- Annular Ball Bearing
- Antifriction bearing
- Ball bearing
- Big-end bearing
- Bridge bearing
- Camshaft bearing
- Carrier bearing
- Clutch pilot bearing
- Clutch release bearing
- Clutch throwout bearing
- Clutch thrust bearing
- Connecting rod bearing
- Con rod bearing
- Friction bearing
- Insert bearing
- Jet bearing
- Loose Ball Bearings
- Main bearing
- Main bearing support
- Needle bearing
- Oilless bearing
- Pilot bearing
- Plain bearing
- Precision insert bearing
- Radial bearing
- Re-metalling the bearings
- Release bearing
- Roller bearing
- Sealed bearing
- Shell bearing
- Sleeve bearing
- Slip-in Bearing
- Small end bearing
- Spigot bearing
- Split-lit-type Rear Main Seal Bearing
- Tapered roller bearing
- Throw-out bearing
- Thrust bearing
- Timken® bearing
- Timken® roller bearing
- Wheel bearings