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PISTON (through Fr. from Ital. pistone or pestone, a See also: engine, a disk or See also: partition placed inside the cylinder, from end to end of which it moves alternately under the pressure of the steam
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By means of the " piston-See also: rod " attached to it this forward and backward motion is communicated to the machinery which the engine is employed to drive, and is in most cases converted into rotary motion by a " connecting-rod," one end of which is jointed to the " See also: cross-See also: head " carried at the end of the piston-rod, while the other turns the See also: crank on the crank-See also: shaft
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The piston in See also: gas, oil and air engines has a, similar See also: function, but in a See also: pump, instead of imparting motion, it has motion imparted to it by some See also: prime-mover
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In every See also: case the piston must See also: fit the cylinder so accurately that as little as possible of the working fluid, whether it be steam, gas or See also: water, can escape past it, packing of various forms being commonly placed round its periphery in See also: order to secure this fit
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In See also: music, the valves which in certain See also: wind See also: instruments, such as the See also: cornet, enable the player to increase the length of the air-See also: column and thus See also: lower the note produced, are known as pistons
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