DICTIONARY OF AUTOMOTIVE TERMS - "Be"

Beach cruiser
A bicycle that is designed for casual and comfortable road riding and that features a relaxed frame, fat 26-inch tires, a wide saddle, a wide handlebar, and rubber pedals
Beaching gear
Floatable, detachable, temporary trolleys which enable a seaplane to be run on and off the shore or slipway.
Beach marks
Fracture surface markings associated with fatigue crack propagation.
Also see
Beach wagon
A woodie station wagon
Beacon
  1. System of visual lights indicating fixed features, e.g., masts, reefs.
  2. A radio-beacon, which can be of any frequency but is usually very high frequency, and can be omni-directional or of directional beam type.
  3. Vertical fan marker beacons are radio beams used to identify particular spots in control zones and on approach patterns.
  4. A non-directional beacon (NDB) is a transmitter, the bearing of which can be determined only by an aircraft equipped for direction finding.
Bead
  1. The portion of a tire which fits onto the rim of the wheel. On a Tubeless tire, the contact of the bead with the rim seals the air into the tire. Bead heel, bead sole, and bead toe form a foot-like shape.
  2. A small ball-like particle used in bead blasting or in some catalytic converters.
  3. In welding, it is the appearance of the finished weld. It describes the neatness of the ripples formed by the metal while it was in a semi liquid state.
  4. A formed, often ornamental molding, usually pliable, sometimes fitted as a sealer like welting between two exterior body panels; e.g., between the fenders and body.
  5. Flexible welting used to trim vehicle upholstery.
Bead base
The part of the tire bead which is in contact with the rim bead seat.
Bead blaster
A cleaning device for removing paint and contaminants from an object.
Also see
Bead blasting
A cleaning process which uses glass beads which are forced by air pressure against the object to be cleaned. This system removes paint and contaminants from objects which are awkwardly shaped.
Bead breaker
A device used to remove a tire from its rim by releasing the tension the bead has upon the rim.
Bead-coil
The part which keeps the tire on the wheel rim.
Bead core
The ring of steel wires in the bead of the tire. Also called Bead wires
Beaded edge
The edge of a body panel or upholstery panel wrapped around a wire or other stiffening item. Also called Rolled bead
Beaded edge tire
An older form of high-pressure tire with projecting beads.
Beader
A power tool for forming beads on the edges of body panels.
Bead expander
A device used in the mounting of tubeless tires to prevent inflation air from escaping and bring the tire beads against the tapered bead seat area (rim).
Bead heel
The portion of the tire bead in contact with the rim flange.
Beading
  1. The action of forming a step in the middle of a panel (not at the edge) which creates a shallow indentation to reinforce the panel.
  2. A formed, often ornamental molding, usually pliable, sometimes fitted as a sealer like welting located between two exterior body panels; e.g., between fenders and body.
  3. Welting used to trim car upholstery.
Also see
Bead lock
Bead movement
Movement of the bead on the rim caused by improper inflation, excessive loading, improper design, improper seating, or improper rim or tire size. Also called bead rocking.
Also see
Bead point
A feathered rubber extension of the bead toe used where a flap is not required; protects the tube from chafing between bead toes and rim base.
Beads
Bead seat
The portion of the wheel rim below the rim flange providing radial support to the bead of the tire.
Bead seat mat
A seat cover made of a network of wood beads.
Bead seats
Bead seat taper
Bead seat diameter
The measurement of tire diameter, at the bead heel, where it seats on the rim. It is marked on the tire sidewall following Section width.
Bead separation
A situation where the bead comes off the wheel rim.
Bead tire
Bead toe
The bottom portion of the tire bead in contact with the rim bead seat.
Bead unseating
Shifting of the tire bead from its seat on the wheel rim which often leads to the removal of the tire.
Also see
Bead wires
Steel wires wound around the circumference and placed in the beads. Their tension prevents the beads from lifting over the rim flanges. Also called Bead core
Beak
Beak iron
  1. The pointed, or horn=shaped, end of a blacksmith's anvil, used in forging rings, bends, etc.
  2. A T-shaped stake, similarly shaped, fitting in the hardy hole of the anvil. Also called beck iron, bickern, bick iron.
Beam
  1. A projection of light. A collimated, or approximately unidirectional, flow of electromagnetic radiation (radio, light, X-rays), or of particles (atoms, electrons, molecules). The angular beam width is defined by the half-intensity points.
  2. A supporting bar. A bar or member which is loaded transversely, predominantly in bending
  3. The width of a ship. Also called breadth.
  4. A wooden or metal cylinder having large flanges at each end. Warp yarns are wound on the beam from cones or cheeses correctly arranged for inserting into the loom or warp-knitting machine. Beams are also used to furnish thread during lace making.
Beam antenna
Generally, any antenna which has focus or direction. Most commonly used to describe short-wave or very high-frequency antennas, rather than microwave antennas which are almost invariably directional.
Beam axle
A rigid or Dead axle which supports the non-driven wheels.
Also see
Beam compasses
An instrument for describing large arcs. It consists of a beam of wood or metal carrying two beam heads, adjustable for position along the beam, and serving as the marking points of the compasses. Also called trammels
Beam control
Beam-coupling coefficient
The ratio of the ac signal current produced to the DC beam current in beam coupling
Beam current
That portion of the gun current in cathode-ray tube which passes through the aperture in the anode and impinges on the fluorescent screen.
Beam-engine
A form of construction used in early steam-engines, now obsolete. The vertical steam-cylinder acted at one end of a pivoted beam, the work load being connected to the other.
Beam-forming electrode
Electrode to which a potential is applied to concentrate the electron stream into one or more beams. Used in beam tetrodes and cathode-ray tubes.
Beam hole
Hole in shield of reactor, or that around a cyclotron, for extracting a beam of neutrons or γ-rays or to insert equipment or samples for irradiation.
Beam headlight
Beam indicator
A light on the instrument panel which comes on when the high beams are activated. Also called High beam indicator
Beam knee
Bracket between a deck beam and frame.
Beam lead
An integrated circuit bonding option for high-frequency applications in which material is etched clear of part of the metallization layer to provide a short beam of metal (usually gold). The chip is then inverted and the beam is bonded direct to conducting tracks.
Beam optimizer
Beam relay
An electromagnetic relay in which the contacts are mounted on a balanced beam with energizing coils acting on each end and tending to tilt it one way or the other.
Beam rider
System in which a guided missile maintains and returns to a course of maximum signal on a radio beam.
Beam setting
Beam splitter
Optical device for dividing a light beam into two or more paths. In particular, a prism system in a camera to produce three color-separation images from a single objective lens.
Beam Suspension
Beam tetrode
Tetrode having an additional pair of plates, normally connected internally to the cathode, so designed as to concentrate the electron beam between the screen grid and anode, and thus reduce secondary emission effects.
Beam unit
Bear
  1. To turn, as in the expression, When you get to the corner, bear right.
  2. Trucker slang for a highway patrol police officer named for Smokey the Bear because they both wore similar hats.
Bear bait
Trucker slang for a leader in a group of trucks as in "Looks like Swift is the bear bait tonight" where bear refers to a police officer (i.e., Smokey the Bear).
Bear cave
Trucker slang for a police station on the highway (also called a zoo) as in The bear cave is empty tonight so watch out.
Bearding
Picture defect in which dark image areas spread into adjacent light areas
Beard protective system
A form of balanced protective system in which the current entering the winding of an alternator is balanced against that leaving it by passing the conductor at the two ends around the core of a single current transformer, in opposite directions, so that there is normally no flux in the transformer core.
Bearer
The physical medium and set of protocols used to carry useful traffic as opposed to those used merely for the control signals that set up and maintain the link.
Bearing
  1. The area of a unit in which the contacting surface of a revolving part rests in order to minimize wear and Friction between two surfaces.
  2. The horizontal angle between any survey line and a given reference direction
  3. Angle of direction in horizontal plane in degrees from true north, e.g., of an arriving radio wave as determined by a direction-finding system. Also azimuth.
  4. An antifriction reducing device that is usually found between two moving parts. The Babbitt bearings found between the Connecting rod and the Crankshaft are lubricated and cushioned with oil, and the front wheel bearings must be repacked with Grease at regular intervals. Bearings can be ball or Roller type.
Bearing assembly
When more than one load needs to be supported, several bearings are used making up the bearing assembly. For instance, a crankshaft may have two bearings (one at each end) as well as a few more in the middle.
Bearing attachment
Bearing block
The two halves of metal which encase a bearing.
Bearing cage
Bearing cap
A rigid, semicircular part which encloses and holds the outer shell of a shell bearing.
Bearing clearance
The amount of space left between a shaft and the bearing surface, this space is for lubricating oil to enter.
Bearing cone
  1. A Tapered roller bearing.
  2. The inner race in an adjustable axial or radial ball bearing.
Bearing crush
The additional height which is purposely manufactured into each bearing half to ensure complete contact of the bearing back with the housing bore when the engine is assembled.
Bearing cup
  1. Retainers, held in place by bolts and nuts, that hold the bearings in place. Also called Bearing shell.
  2. The bearing Race that curves around the outside of a ring of Ball bearings and works in conjunction with a Cone.
  3. The outer race for a ball or roller bearing.
Bearing current
A stray current, induced by magnetic flux linking the shaft of an electrical machine, that flows between the shaft and bearings and may injure the bearing surfaces.
Bearing face
The bottom part of a nut or bolt head which clamps down on the surface of the part it is securing.
Bearing housing
The cavity into which the bearing fits.
Bearing knock
The noise created by movement of a part in a loose or worn bearing.
Bearing material
The metal layer which forms the surface of the wear part of the bearing.
Bearing metals
Metals (alloys) used for that part of a bearing which is in contact with the Journal; e.g., bronze or white metal, used on account of their low coefficient of friction when used with a steel shaft.
Bearing pile
A column which is sunk or driven into the ground to support a vertical load by transmitting it to a firm foundation lower down, or by consolidating the soil so that its bearing power is increased. Formerly of timber but now mor usually reinforced concrete or steel.
Bearing puller
Bearing puller

Bearing puller

A tool used to remove bearings from a shaft by pulling them off. It has two or more arms which circle around the back side of the bearing and a center post which butts up against the end of the shaft. As the center post is screwed down, the arms pull the bearing toward the end of the shaft.
Bearing race
  1. In ball or roller bearings, it is one of the two steel rings on either side of the ball or roller.
  2. The inner or outer ring that provides the smooth, hard contact surface for the balls or rollers in a bearing.
Bearings
Supports provided to locate a revolving or reciprocating shaft.
Bearing scraper
A small, triangular tool that looks like a file without teeth. Used for deburring and chamfering the edges of camshaft bearings.
Bearing Seals
Bearing separator
Bearing separator

Bearing separator

A tool used to separate double bearings or close-fitting gears when a conventional Bearing puller cannot be used
Bearing shell
One of a pair of thin semicircular steel cups lined with an alloy such as copper-lead or lead-indium, which together enclose a shaft or other rotating member, and are held in a circular housing which can be divided into two halves.
Bearing spin
A type of bearing failure in which a lack of lubrication overheats the bearing until it seizes on the shaft, shears its locking lip, and rotates in the housing or block.
Bearing spread
A purposely manufactured small extra distance across the parting faces of the bearing half, in excess of the actual diameter of the housing bore. Thus the diameter is slightly greater than the housing into which a shell bearing is being placed. Thus the bearing is forced into place to reduce its movement.
Bearing support
Bearing surface
  1. The area of the bearing that is in actual contact with the shaft or other supporting member.
  2. The part of a fastener such as the washer face of a nut or under the head of a machine screw that actually comes in contact with the part it fastens.
Bearing tang
A notch or lip on a bearing shell used to correctly locate the bearing during assembly.
Bearing wall
The supporting or abutment wall of a bridge or arch.
Bear in the air
Trucker slang for an overhead highway patrol as in "Slow down Roadrunner you got a bear in the air past the next rest area."
Bear meat
Trucker slang for a speeding truck without a radar detector as in "That gearjamming large car is bear meat."
Bear report
Trucker slang for asking for the location of the cops as in "Can I get a bear report there Covenant."
Beast
A vehicle which performs very well.
Beat
Periodic variation in the amplitude of a summation wave containing two sinusoidal components of nearly equal frequencies.
Beater
  1. An old or collectible vehicle that is in Driveable condition, but looks terrible inside and out, and probably is missing many original parts. Often used to describe a vehicle that is past the easy Restoration stage but still contains many good driving miles. It is also a term for urban combat car and is usually used in conjunction with the word winter, as in winter beater, which is a vehicle that is so far gone, it is sacrificed to the salt covered roads of winter. It is a disposable collectible that is driven until it disintegrates. In other words, it looks as if someone had been beating it for quite a while. British term is Banger.
  2. A device for hitting something.
  3. A vat containing a heavy cylindrical roll (beater roll), fitted with bars, parallel to the Journal, which rotates against a fixed set of bars (bedplate). The paper fibers in suspension in water pass between these bars in preparation for sheet making.
  4. High-speed revolving shaft having arms equipped with blades or pins. These beat out the heavy impurities in matted raw fibers in opening and Scutching processes.
Also see
Beat frequency
Generally, the difference frequency produced by the intermodulation of two frequencies. Specifically, the intermediate frequency in a superhet receiver.
Beat-frequency oscillator (BFO)
The frequency changing stage of a superhet radio receiver.
Beating
  1. The subjective difference tone when two sound waves of nearly equal frequencies are simultaneously applied to one ear. It appears as a regular increase and decrease of the combined intensity.
  2. Process for partially breaking down the cell-wall structure of cellulose fibers in water before forming paper sheet.
  3. Process for removing heavy impurities from matted, raw natural textile fibers in the opening and Scutching process.
  4. The spare threads available during the weaving of wool to replace missing warp threads in the mending process.
Beating spoon
Beating-up
The process in weaving by which the newly inserted weft thread is pushed against the edge of the woven fabric.
Beauty
See
Beauty side of wheel
The side of the wheel that is exposed to the exterior of the vehicle rather than the side that is attached to the axle. Also called Wheel face.
Beaver cloth
Heavy woollen woven overcoating simulating the lustrous nap of the skin of the beaver by milling and raising the fibers, butting them level and laying them in the same direction.
Beavertail
A hinged (usually hydraulic) ramp on the end of a flatbed trailer enabling vehicles or heavy equipment to drive onto the trailer.
Beavertail antenna
An antenna producing a broad, flat, radar beam.
Be back
A prospective buyer who has been in the dealership before, but has returned for more information or is ready to buy.
Bechgaard salt
(TMTSF) 2 X where X is an inorganic anion such as (PF 6 )-, (AlO 4 )-, (ReO 4 -, and TMTSF is the tetramethyl selenium derivative of TTF (tetrathiofulvalene). These salts are organic electrical conductors.
Beck
See
Beck iron
Beck hydrometer
Hydrometer for measuring the relative density of liquids less dense than water. Graduated in degrees Beck, where °Beck=200(1-rel.d.)
Beckmann apparatus
Apparatus used for measuring the freezing and boiling points of solutions.
Beckmann thermometer
A limited range mercury thermometer with a large bulb. It is used to measure small changes of temperature with great precision. Its mean range can be altered by moving mercury from a reservoir in or out of the bulb.
Becquerel
(Bq) SI unit of radioactivity; one becquerel is the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. Replaces the curie 1Bq=2.7x10 -11 Ci. It is a very small unit and commonly used with the standard SI prefixes, a gigabecquerel (Gbq or 10 9 Bq) being often needed.
Bed
Any flat surface used as a support.
Bedbuggers
Trucker slang for moving companies as in "Bedbuggers on the side of the road."
Bedding-in
The process of accurately fitting a bearing to its shaft by scraping the former until contact occurs uniformly over the surface.
Bedding-in oil
British term for Break-in oil
Bed in
British term for Break-in
Bedplate
A cast-iron or fabricated steel base, to which the frame of an engine or other machine is attached.
Bed X-Tender
Bed X-Tender

Bed X-Tender

An apparatus attached to a truck bed which allows longer items to be secured in place
Beefed-up
  1. Colloquial term for making something stronger.
  2. Colloquial term for modifying or improving something so it will work faster or more efficiently. Similar to Souped up
Beema
Colloquial term for BMW.
Beemer
Colloquial term for BMW.
Beetle
  1. A machine consisting of a row of wooden or metal hammers, which fall on a roll of damp cloth as it revolves. The operation closes the spaces between the warp and the weft yarns, and imparts a soft glossy finish to cotton and linen.
  2. Colloquial term for the original rear-engined Volkswagen.
Before bottom dead center
(BBDC) As the Crankshaft rotates, it brings the Piston down to a place just before it reaches Bottom dead center.
Before top dead center
(BTDC) As the Crankshaft rotates, it pushes the Piston up to a place just before the top of its movement.
Before upper dead center
(BUDC) As the Crankshaft rotates, it pushes the Piston up to a place just before the top of its movement.
Beginning Inventory
The list of the number of all products and their value which is determined at the beginning of a period.
Bell
  1. A device mounted on a bicycle and used to warn pedestrians and other bikes of your approach. A hollow metallic vessel with a flared mouth which, when struck, vibrates with a fundamental frequency determined by parameters such as its mass and dimensions.
  2. A component that is shaped like half a ball or egg.
Bell center punch
A center punch whose point is automatically located centrally on the end of circular work by a sliding hollow conical guide.
Bell chuck
An attachment to a lathe (i.e., chuck) shaped like a bell or cup that is screwed to a mandrel and can grip bits. Also called Cup chuck
Bell-crank lever
A lever consisting of two arms generally at right angles, with a common fulcrum at their junction.
Bell housing
Bell housing

Bell housing

Sometimes called Clutch housing. The metal covering around the Flywheel and Clutch (of a Manual transmission) or Torque converter assembly (of an Automatic transmission).
Bell metal
High tin bronze, containing up to 30% tin and some zinc and lead. Used in casting bells.
Bell mouth
Bell-shaped air intake attached to some carburetors.
Bellmouth
A form of brake drum distortion in which the open edge of the drum has a large diameter than the closed edge.
Bell-mouthed
Said of a hole or bore when its diameter gradually increases toward one or both open ends, the bore profile in section being curved. Usually a manufacturing fault.
Bellows
  1. A sealed, accordion-type chamber (gas filled or vacuum) which expands and contracts in accordance with temperature changes or provides a seal during movement of parts. Used as an air conditioning control device on many systems.
  2. The flexible connection between parts of a camera or enlarger, necessarily light-tight, to permit delicate adjustments, usually of focusing.
  3. corrugated cylindrical container which moves as pressures change, or provides a seal during movement of parts
Also see
Bellows seal
  1. Method of sealing the valve stem. The ends of the sealing material are fastened to the bonnet and to the stem. Seal expands and contracts wit the stem level.
  2. An expanding diaphragm used as a seal between the master cylinder reservoir and the reservoir cover. It prevents air from contacting the fluid, yet it allows the fluid to change in volume.
Bell-type furnace
A portable inverted furnace or heated cover operated in conjunction with a series of bases upon which the work is to be heated can be loaded and then left to cool after heat treatment. Used chiefly for bright annealing of non-ferrous metals and bright-hardening of steels.
Belly Bin
Boxes attached under the floor of a trailer which can carry cargo, but more often carry spare parts or dunnage.
Belly Dump
A hopper bottom trailer, both empty from underneath via gravity.
Bellypan
A sheetmetal plate attached to the bottom of a vehicle body to protect the engine and its components as well as to provide better aerodynamics.
Belly Trailer
Belt
  1. A reinforcing band, normally textile, Fiberglass, or steel, which runs around the circumference of a tire and strengthens the Tread area.
    Also see
  2. A circular band which is used to transfer power from one Component to another. For instance, a Fan belt is used to transfer power from the engine to the Alternator, Water pump, and Air conditioner Compressor.
  3. An attaching strap.
Belt Alternator Starter
(BAS) A Hybrid vehicle system from GM
Belt anchor
The point where the end of the Seat belt is attached.
Belt anchorage
The point where the end of the Seat belt is attached.
Belt conveyor
Belt drive
In order to transmit power from a source to a destination, some kind of connection is needed. A Bicycle, for instance, uses a Chain drive to transmit the power from pedaling action to the rear wheel. A belt drive uses a leather or rubber belt to transfer power from one Pulley to another thus increasing or decreasing the Speed of rotation of the driven pulley through mechanical advantage. For instance the Alternator is rotated by a belt (sometimes called the Fan belt) which is driven by a shaft which is directly attached to the Crankshaft. Some Motorcycle models (like Harley Davidson and Honda) have a belt drive to transmit power to the rear wheels. Since a belt drive requires no lubrication (in contrast with Chain drive) it is one of the cleanest final drive systems.
Belt-drive system
A final-drive system that transmits the power to the rear wheel via a drive belt.
Belted bias tire
A tire which uses both cross-ply and radial-ply patterns with added belts (such as used on radial-ply tires) on diagonal body plies (as in cross-ply tires). As a result the tire has stiffer sidewalls than tires with just straight radial plies.
Belted piston
A Piston with a continuous steel band Cast into the Skirt below the rings for controlling skirt Expansion.
Belted radial tire
Belted tire
A tire with a stabilizing belt of two or more plies of steel, fiberglass, etc., running circumferentially around the tire between the carcass and the tread rubber. The carcass can be either radial or bias ply.
Belt end
The part of the Seat belt which has the bracket which is attached to the floor pan. Some cars attach this end to the car seat itself.
Belt fork
Two parallel prongs attached at right angles to a sliding rod, used to slide a flat belt from a fast to a loose pulley and vice versa. Also called belt striker.
Belt highway
A ring road. A road enabling traffic to bypass a town.
Belting
A general term descriptive of materials from which driving belts are made, e.g., leather, cotton, balata, woven hair, plastics, etc.
Belt line
The horizontal line that runs around the body of the vehicle just below the bottom of the glass panel greenhouse. The British term is waistline
Beltline
The horizontal line that runs around the body of the vehicle just below the bottom of the glass panel greenhouse. The British term is waistline
Belt mounting
Belt pulley
Belt retractor
A device which automatically pulls the seat belt back into its reel.
Belts
Belt sander
Belt sander

Belt sander

A power sanding tool with a rotating belt of sandpaper
Belt slack
The looseness of a belt (either the drive type belt or a seat belt)
Belt slip
When a drive belt is not as tight as it should be, it will slip on the pulley and thus will not transmit power. If a driven pulley is seized, the belt will also slip.
Belt striker
Belt system
Belt tensioner
A device consisting of an idler pulley which is usually located between the drive and driven pulleys. It can be adjusted to increase the tension on the belt.
Belt transmission
Belt up
A British term for Buckle up
Belt warning light
Belt webbing
Strong fabric material used for Seat belts
Bench
  1. A workbench.
  2. A test bed for studying or repairing an engine.
  3. Fixed rails with adjustable and slidable supports for a waveguide system.
Bench bleeding
A procedure used to bleed the air from a new or rebuilt master cylinder before installation in a vehicle.
Bench grinder
Bench grinder

Bench grinder

A power tool mounted on a workbench with one or two grinding wheels
Bench seat
A front seat which runs from the left door to the right door. The alternative is Bucket seats.
Bench test
A determination of the power output of an engine when it is mounted on a test bed. Also it can be checked for oil leaks, fuel consumption, emission levels, etc.
Bench vise
Bench vise

Bench vise

A vise which is mounted on a workbench
Bench work
  1. Work executed at the bench with hand tools or small machines, as distinct from that done at the machines.
  2. Small molds made on a bench in the foundry.
Bend
  1. To form into a curved or angular shape.
  2. A curved length of tubing or conduit used to connect the ends of two adjacent straight lengths which are at an angle to one another.
  3. Alteration of direction of a rigid or flexible waveguide. It is E or minor when electric vector is in plane of arc of bending and H or major when at right angles to this. Also called corner
Bender
Bending
Bending die
Bending moment
At any transverse section of a beam, the algebraic sum of the moments of all the forces to either side of the section.
Bending moment diagram
Diagram representing the variation of bending moment along a beam. It is a graph of bending moment (y-axis) against distance along the beam axis (x-axis).
Bending pliers
Pliers with flat, smooth jaws used to hold sheet metal in place.
Bending rolls
A large machine used to give curvature to plates. It usually has three rolls with axes arranged in a triangle so that adjusting one relative to the others forms a curve on a strip or sheet of metal passed between them.
Also see
Bending Slab
Heavy cast iron perforated thick plate arranged to form a large floor on which frames, etc., are bent.
Bending spring
Coil spring which is placed on inside or outside of tubing to keep it from collapsing while bending it.
Bending strength
The ability of metal to resist bending (i.e., Bending moment). Also called flexural strength.
Bending test
  1. A test made on a beam to determine its deflection and strength under bending load. The most usual forms are symmetrical three-point and symmetrical four-point bending, the advantage of the latter being that a constant bending moment is imposed between the two central loading points. Also called flexural test.
  2. A forge test in which flat bars etc. are bent through 180° as a test of ductility.
Bending wave
Wave observed on thin plates and bars. The motion is perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Important for sound radiation from walls and enclosures.
Bendix
Bendix drive
Bendix screw
A helical screw on the shaft of a starter motor.
Bendix starter
A starter motor with a Bendix drive
Bendix type starter drive
A self-engaging Starter drive gear, the gear moves into engagement when the Starter starts spinning and automatically disengages when the starter stops. Also called Inertia drive
Bend test
Benefits
Bent
  1. Colloquial term for a Recumbent bicycle
  2. The vertical portion of a bridge that supports the beams. A bridge bent is located out of the waterway; a pier is located in the waterway.
Bent Bolt
A cylindrical rod having a thread at one end and the other end bent to some desired conformation; also a bent cylindrical rod having threads at both ends.
Bentley
Bentley

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Bentley

A vehicle brand of which the 1919-1945 models are classic cars. The 1946-67 models are milestone cars.
Bent-tail carrier
A lathe carrier having a bent shank projection into, and engaged by, a slot in the driving plate or chuck.
Benz
A vehicle brand of which the 1925-26, 10/30,11/40, 16/50, and 16/50 Sport models with required application are classic cars.
Also see
Benzene
(C6H6) An aromatic hydrocarbon which is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid. It is present in small proportion in some crude oils and made commercially from petroleum by the catalytic reforming of naphthenes in petroleum naphtha. Also made from coal in the manufacture of coke. Used as a solvent in the manufacture of detergents, synthetic fibers, petrochemicals, and as a component of high-octane gasoline.
Benzol
A by-product of manufacture of coke. Sometimes it is used as an engine fuel. Has good anti-knock properties.
Berber
A carpet square hand-woven by North Africans from hand-spun yarns from the natural colored wool of local sheep. Commonly misused to describe machine-made carpets considered to have a similar appearance.
Beretta
Chevrolet Beretta Books

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Chevrolet Beretta

A model of automobile manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1986-96.
Bergstrom's method
A method of assessing the stresses in concrete pavements with particular reference to aerodrome runways and taxing tracks.
Berlina
Berlina

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Berlina

A model of automobile from Alfa-Romeo
Berline
  1. A World War I term describing a closed luxury vehicle with small windows. The passengers were able to see out; but it was difficult to see in thus maintaining their privacy
  2. A two-door sedan
Berm
  1. A horizontal ledge on the side of an embankment or cutting, to intercept earth rolling down the slopes, or to add strength to the construction. Also called bench
  2. A low earth fill constructed in the path of flowing water to divert its direction, or constructed to act as a counterweight beside the road fill to reduce the risk of foundation failure (buttress).
Berm ditch
A channel cut along a berm to drain off excess water.
Bernoulli's Theorem
  1. In a stream of liquid, the sum of elevation head, pressure head, and velocity remains constant along any line of flow provided no work is done by or upon liquid on course of its flow; decreases in proportion to energy lost in flow.
  2. The law that for a non-viscous, incompressible fluid in steady flow, the sum of the pressure and kinetic energies per unit volume is constant at any point. It is a fundamental law of fluid mechanics.
Berth
  1. A place for a ship
  2. A place to sleep
  3. A bunk
  4. A specified small section of the hull structure
Bertone
Bertone

Bertone

An Italian automobile manufacturer noted for creative design. Usually called Gruppo Bertone. Includes X1/9 (1988).
Beryllides
Compounds of other metals with beryllium
Beryllium bronze
A copper-base alloy containing w.25% of beryllium. Develops great hardness (i.e., 300-400 Brinell) after quenching from 800°C followed by heating to 300°C.
Bessemer converter
Large barrel-shaped tilting furnace, charged while fairly vertical with molten metal, and "blown" by air introduced below through tuyères. Discharged by tilting. Now obsolete but replaced by variety of similar shaped but smaller vessels operating in slightly different ways and using oxygen in place of air.
Bessemer pig iron
Pig iron which has been dephosphorized in Bessemer converter lined with basic refractory material.
Bessemer process
Process in which impurities are removed from molten metal or matte by blowing air through molten charge in Bessemer converter. Used to remove carbon and phosphorus from steel, sulfur and iron from copper matte.
Best selected copper
Metal of a lower purity than high-conductivity copper. Generally contains over 99.75% copper. Compare Casting copper.
Beta brass
Copper-zinc alloys, containing 46-49% zinc, which consists (at room temperature) of the intermediate constituents (or intermetallic compound) known as β.
Also see
Beta decay
Radioactive disintegration with the emission of an electron or positron accompanied by an uncharged antineutrino or neutrino. The mass number of the nucleus remains unchanged but the atomic number is increased by one or decreased by one depending on whether an electron or positron is emitted.
Beta detector
A radiation detector specially designed to measure β-radiation.
Beta disintegration
Beta disintegration energy
For electron (βa) emission it is the sum of the energies of the particles, the neutrino and the recoil atom. For positron (β + ) emission there is in addition the energy of the rest masses of two electrons.
Beta-iron
Iron in the temperature range 750°C - 860°C, in which a change from the magnetic (alpha) state to the paramagnetic occurs at about 760°C. With carbon in solution the transition is lowered toward 720°C, and when cooling Recalescence is more marked.
Beta particle
An electron or positron emitted in beta decay from a radioactive isotope. Also called β-particle
Beta radiation
Beta particles emitted from a radioactive source
Beta rays
Streams of Beta particles
Beta-ray spectrometer
Spectrometer which determines the spectral distribution of energies of β-particles from radioactive substances or secondary electrons.
Beta thickness gauge
Instrument measuring thickness, based on absorption and backscattering (reflection) by material or sample being measured of β-particles from a radioactive source.
Betatopic
Said of atoms differing in atomic number by one unit. One atom can be considered as ejecting an electron (beta particle) to produce the other one.
Betatron
Machine used to accelerate electrons to energies of up to 300MeV in pulsed output. The electrons move in an orbit or constant radius between the poles of an electromagnet, and a rapidly alternating magnetic field provides the means of acceleration.
Beta value
In fusion, the ratio of the outward pressure exerted by the plasma to the inward pressure which the magnetic field is capable of exerting. Also called plasma beta
Béton
French, originally for lime concrete, now for any kind of concrete.
Béton armé
French for Reinforced concrete
BET surface area
Surface area of a powder calculated from gas adsorption data, by the method devised by Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller.
Betts process
An electrolytic process for refining lead after drossing. The electrolyte is a solution of lead silica fluoride and hydrofluorsilicic acid, and both contain some gelatine. Impurities are all more noble metals than lead and remain on the anode. Gold and silver are recovered from anode sponge.
Better half
Trucker slang for a husband or wife as in "I sure do miss my better half."
Between duals
Between perpendiculars (BP)
A naval term describing the length between the forward perpendicular and after perpendicular (after side of sternpost)
Between wheel spacer
An obsolete circular metal plate having a bolt hole circle and center bore and fitting between the faces of disc wheels to provide additional dual clearance.
Bevatron
A synchrotron at Berkeley, US, which gives a beam of 6.4 GeV protons.
Bevel
  1. The angle that one surface makes with another when they are not at right angles.
  2. A small slant, usually describing a flat washer which is square and thicker on one side than the other
  3. The angle between the flanges of a frame or other member.
  4. To chamfer
Bevel differential
A Differential which has bevel gears for its main elements. This allows the input and output shafts to be at right angles to one another.
Bevel drive shaft
A shaft with a Bevel gear at one end or both ends. It is used primarily for driving an overhead camshaft.
Bevel gear
  1. A gear shaped like the wide end (frustum) of a Cone, used to transmit motion through an angle. They are found in Differentials.
  2. A system of toothed wheels connecting shafts whose axes are at an angle to one another but in the same plane.
Bevel gear drive
A transmission which is used to drive one or more shafts which do not line up with the output shaft. Also called Bevel gear transmission
Bevel gear transmission
A transmission which is used to drive one or more shafts which do not line up with the output shaft. Also called Bevel gear drive
Bevel joint
A piston ring gap in which the two ends of the ring are tapered.
Beverage holder
A circular clip located on the center Console, door panel, or dashboard which is designed to hold a cup or bottle. Also called Cup holder
Bezel
Bezel

Bezel

  1. The crimped edge of metal that secures the glass face to an instrument. A bezel can be either decorative or functional. Some bezels are threaded and secure switches and control Buttons to the Dash, Console, or Steering column.
  2. A small indicator light (e.g., for direction signal lights) on instrument panel or dashboard.
  3. A grooved ring holding the glass of a watch or an instrument dial.