What does headrace mean?

Definitions for headrace
head·race

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word headrace.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. headracenoun

    a waterway that feeds water to a mill or water wheel or turbine

Wiktionary

  1. headracenoun

    The part of a millrace that brings water to the millwheel

Wikipedia

  1. headrace

    A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving car. Water wheels were still in commercial use well into the 20th century but they are no longer in common use. Uses included milling flour in gristmills, grinding wood into pulp for papermaking, hammering wrought iron, machining, ore crushing and pounding fibre for use in the manufacture of cloth. Some water wheels are fed by water from a mill pond, which is formed when a flowing stream is dammed. A channel for the water flowing to or from a water wheel is called a mill race. The race bringing water from the mill pond to the water wheel is a headrace; the one carrying water after it has left the wheel is commonly referred to as a tailrace.Waterwheels were used for various purposes from agriculture to metallurgy in ancient civilizations spanning the Hellenistic Greek world, Rome, China and India. Waterwheels saw continued use in the Post-classical age, like the Middle Ages of Europe and the Islamic Golden Age, but also elsewhere. In the mid to late 18th century John Smeaton's scientific investigation of the water wheel led to significant increases in efficiency supplying much needed power for the Industrial Revolution. Water wheels began being displaced by the smaller, less expensive and more efficient turbine, developed by Benoît Fourneyron, beginning with his first model in 1827. Turbines are capable of handling high heads, or elevations, that exceed the capability of practical-sized waterwheels. The main difficulty of water wheels is their dependence on flowing water, which limits where they can be located. Modern hydroelectric dams can be viewed as the descendants of the water wheel, as they too take advantage of the movement of water downhill.

ChatGPT

  1. headrace

    In hydroelectric power production, a headrace is the canal, pipe, tunnel, or conduit that leads water from the reservoir or intake towards the turbines. It is a passage typically used for conveying water to power a water wheel or turbine. Essentially, its function is to transport water with minimum energy loss due to friction and turbulence. The water pressure and flow within the headrace contribute to the potential energy of the hydroelectric system.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Headracenoun

    see Race, a water course

Matched Categories

How to pronounce headrace?

How to say headrace in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of headrace in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of headrace in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9


Translations for headrace

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for headrace »

Translation

Find a translation for the headrace definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"headrace." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Jul 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/headrace>.

Discuss these headrace definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for headrace? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    headrace

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    A investigating
    B vehicle
    C purse
    D rogue

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for headrace: