Windage

Windage

Windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object.

There are two possible causes of windage:
# the object is moving and being slowed by resistance from the air
# a wind is blowing producing a force on the object

The term can refer to either:
* the effect of the force, for example the deflection of a missile or an aircraft by a cross wind, or
* the area and shape of the object that make it susceptible to friction, for example those parts of a boat that are exposed to the wind.

Aerodynamic streamlining can be used to reduce windage.

There is a similar hydrodynamic effect to windage.

In firearms parlance, windage refers to the side-to-side adjustment of a rifle's sight, used to change the horizontal component of the aiming point. (The up-down adjustment for the vertical component is the elevation.) It can also refer to the difference in diameter between the bore and the shot, especially in muskets and cannons.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Windage — Wind age, n. [From {Wind} air in motion.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Gun.) The difference between the diameter of the bore of a gun and that of the shot fired from it. [1913 Webster] 2. The sudden compression of the air caused by a projectile in passing… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • windage — [win′dij] n. 1. the disturbance of air around a moving projectile 2. a) the deflection of a projectile by the effects of the wind b) the degree of this c) in aiming a gun, the degree of adjustment of the wind gauge to compensate for such… …   English World dictionary

  • windage — /win dij/, n. 1. the influence of the wind in deflecting a missile. 2. the amount of such deflection. 3. the degree to which a gunsight must be adjusted to correct for windage. 4. a difference between the diameter of a projectile and that of the… …   Universalium

  • windage — wind•age [[t]ˈwɪn dɪdʒ[/t]] n. 1) rkt the influence of the wind in deflecting a missile 2) rkt the amount of such deflection 3) the degree to which a gunsight must be adjusted to correct for windage 4) the difference between the diameter of a… …   From formal English to slang

  • windage tray — On some high performance engines, another pan within the oil pan, up near the crankshaft, that insulates the crankshaft from the windage phenomenon, which causes oil, in the form of tiny droplets, to become airborne within the crankcase of an… …   Dictionary of automotive terms

  • windage — noun Etymology: 1wind Date: circa 1710 1. a. the space between the projectile of a smoothbore gun and the surface of the bore b. the difference between the diameter of the bore of a muzzle loading rifled cannon and that of the projectile cylinder …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • windage — noun ˈwɪndədʒ a) Drag on the crankshaft caused by oil splashing out of the sump when rotating at high speeds. b) The difference in diameter between the bore of a firearm and the shot …   Wiktionary

  • windage — Internal injury with no surface lesion, caused by collision with the pressure of compressed air or with an object propelled by compressed air …   Medical dictionary

  • windage — n. deflection of wind; adjustment made to allow for wind deflection; side of ship turned towards the wind; friction between a moving object and the air …   English contemporary dictionary

  • windage — noun the air resistance of a moving object or the force of the wind on a stationary object. ↘the effect of the wind in deflecting a missile …   English new terms dictionary

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