Criteria
A machine consists of a power source and a mechanism for the controlled use of this power. The power source often relies on chemical conversion to generate heat which is then used to generate power. Each stage of the process of power generation has a maximum performance limit which is identified as ideal.
Once the power is generated the mechanism components of the machine direct it toward useful forces and movement. The ideal mechanism does not absorb any power, which means the power input is equal to the power output.
An example is the automobile engine (internal combustion engine) which burns fuel (an exothermic chemical reaction) inside a cylinder and uses the expanding gases to drive a piston. The movement of the piston rotates the crank shaft. The remaining mechanical components such as the transmission, drive shaft, differential, axles and wheels form the power transmission mechanism that directs the power from the engine into friction forces on the road to move the automobile.
The ideal machine has the maximum energy conversion performance combined with a lossless power transmission mechanism that yields maximum performance.
Read more about this topic: Ideal Machine
Famous quotes containing the word criteria:
“The Hacker Ethic: Access to computers—and anything which might teach you something about the way the world works—should be unlimited and total.
Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative!
All information should be free.
Mistrust authority—promote decentralization.
Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or position.
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—Steven Levy, U.S. writer. Hackers, ch. 2, “The Hacker Ethic,” pp. 27-33, Anchor Press, Doubleday (1984)
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—V.N. (Valintin Nikolaevic)
“We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions can only point the way. They can establish criteria of right and wrong. And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism. But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice—however much we might desire it.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)