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spinning wheel |
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spinning wheelEarly machine for turning textile fibre into thread or yarn, which was then woven into cloth on a loom. The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are unclear. It reached Europe via the Middle East in the Middle Ages. The improvement of the loom in 18th-century England created a yarn shortage and a demand for mechanical spinning. The result was a series of inventions that converted the spinning wheel into a powered, mechanized component of the Industrial Revolution (see drawing frame; spinning jenny; water frame). spinning wheel a wheel-like machine for spinning at home, having one hand- or foot-operated spindle How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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The wheels require energy to get started and keep going, but the spinning wheel also stores excess power in the form of kinetic energy that can be quickly discharged when needed (as the wheel slows) but quickly recharged once outside power is restored. 2) Betty Bingham uses a spinning wheel to create elaborately designed items. One of the chapter-prefacing quotes spells this out in Willard's own words: "I began to feel that myself plus the bicycle equaled myself plus the world, upon whose spinning wheel we must all learn to ride. |
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