catenary
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈkætəˌnɛri/
- Specialized
:
catenaria
- The power lines create a catenary curve between the two poles, illustrating the effect of gravity on the suspended cable.
- catenary grid
- catenary system
- catenary grid scrubber
Examples
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The catenary grid scrubber may find a market for its original application: scrubbing emissions from a coal-fired steam-generating plant.
Academic text (1996) -
The sleek front power car, looking like the nose of an SST, gets its 25,000-volt charge from the overhead catenary.
Fiction book (1996) -
The old cars delay really fast trains behind them and threaten to bring down the catenary.
Blog text (7) -
With different construction materials, the catenary grid scrubber can be used for other applications.
Academic text (1996) -
Any line made fast at both ends takes a catenary curve, no matter how taut you draw it.
Fiction book (1991) -
Both of these take power electrically from overhead catenaries, as you see here.
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In addition to collecting power from an overhead catenary system like the TGV, when traveling in England, Eurostar also collects power from a third rail.
Academic text (1993) -
In addition to meeting rising energy costs and tighter emissions standards, the catenary grid scrubbers help users recover their investment costs faster than with competing scrubbing systems.
Academic text (1996) -
Although originally intended to desulfurize coal, the first catenary grid, 7 feet in diameter, was installed at the Nestle Foods coffee plant in Freehold, N.J., in 1982.
Academic text (1996) -
When hanging a chain between two points, it naturally forms a catenary shape based on its own weight.
Synonyms
A curve that a hanging chain or cable makes under its own weight
Surface Forms
Morphology
catenary = catenate (opaque) = caten + ary
The formation uses a Latin combining form and a technical suffix; the resulting term denotes a specialized mathematical concept not inferable by typical learners.
Etymology
Catenary comes from the Latin word catena, which means 'chain'. A helpful way to remember it is that a hanging chain or cable naturally makes this exact curve between two points, so catenary names the curve a free chain makes under its own weight.