| power | 1. Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual invested with authority; an institution, or government, which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe; hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity. 2. <psychology> The exertion of a strong influence or control over others in a variety of settings; administrative, social, academic, etc. Mental or moral ability to act; one of the faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as, the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing, fearing, hoping, etc. 3. <mechanics> The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an engine of twenty horse power. Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as, the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a weight at the other end. 4. <unit> The English unit of power used most commonly is the horse power. See Horse power. 5. <mathematics> The product arising from the multiplication of a number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and a cube is third power, of a number. 6. <optics> The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and usually in the microscope, the number of times it multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it multiplies the apparent surface. 7. Power may be predicated of inanimate agents, like the winds and waves, electricity and magnetism, gravitation, etc, or of animal and intelligent beings; and when predicated of these beings, it may indicate physical, mental, or moral ability or capacity. 8. <geometry> Power of a point (relative to a given curve), the result of substituting the coordinates of any point in that expression which being put equal to zero forms the equation of the curve; as, x^2 + y^2 - 100 is the power of the point x, y, relative to the circle x^2 + y^2 - 100 = 0. Origin: OE. Pouer, poer, OF. Poeir, pooir, F. Pouvoir, n. & v, fr. LL. Potere, for L. Posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus. Source: Websters Dictionary (04 Jul 1999) |
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| power failure | Synonym: pump failure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| power injector | An injector for rapid contrast medium injection in angiography or computed tomography. (05 Mar 2000) |
| power plants | Units that convert some form of energy into electrical energy, such as hydroelectric or steam-generating stations, diesel-electric engines in locomotives, or nuclear power plants. (12 Dec 1998) |
| power point | In dentistry, the vertical dimension at which the greatest masticatory force may be registered. (05 Mar 2000) |
| power source | Devices that supply energy. (12 Dec 1998) |
| pulsed power | <radiobiology> The technology of using electrical energy stores for producing multi-terawatt (10^12 Watts or higher) pulses of electrical power for inertial confinement fusion, nuclear weapon effects simulation, and directed energy weapons. High efficiency and cost effectiveness make it desirable technology for large energy experiments. (09 Oct 1997) |
| hydroelectric power | The generation of electricity using falling water. (05 Dec 1998) |
| stopping power | <radiobiology> The average rate of energy loss of a charged particle per unit thickness of a material or per unit mass of material traversed. (16 Dec 1997) |
| independent power producer | A power production facility that is not part of a regulated utility. (05 Dec 1998) |
| firm power | (firm energy) Power which is guaranteed by the supplier to be available at all times during a period covered by a commitment. That portion of a customer's energy load for which service is assured by the utility provider. (05 Dec 1998) |