Category:Torsion

Tor"sion, n. Etym: [f., fr. Ll. torsio, fr. L. torquere, tortum, to Twist. See torture.]

1. The act of turning or twisting, or the state of being twisted; the Twisting or wrenching of a body by the exertion of a lateral force Tending to turn one end or part of it about a longitudinal axis, While the other is held fast or turned in the opposite direction.

2. (mech.)

Defn: that force with which a thread, wire, or rod of any material, Returns, or tends to return, to a state of rest after it has been Twisted; torsibility. Angle of torsion (of a curve) (geom.), the Indefinitely small angle between two consecutive osculating planes of A curve of double curvature. -- moment of torsion (mech.) the moment of a pair of equal and Opposite couples which tend to twist a body. -- torsion balance (physics.), an instrument for estimating very Minute forces, as electric or magnetic attractions and repulsions, by The torsion of a very slender wire or fiber having at its lower Extremity a horizontal bar or needle, upon which the forces act. -- torsion scale, a scale for weighing in which the fulcra of the Levers or beams are strained wires or strips acting by torsion.