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Not named after farm tractors then which I'd always assumed had gained their name from the term traction engine.
by nannal 9y ago
Not named after farm tractors then which I'd always assumed had gained their name from the term traction engine.
- navaati 9y agoWell yes and no, traction is the act of "tirer" in French, that is the act of pulling. So a farm tractor is named as such because it pulls some (usually plowing) equipment behind it, and a tractor beam because it pulls some stuff at a distance.
- cyberferret 9y agoAlso reminds me of an interesting lesson we had in flying school, where our CFI was explaining that the "propeller" on an airplane should really be called a "tractor" because it is technically pulling the aircraft along, whereas an actual "propeller" would push the aircraft along (much as a ship's propeller does at the stern).
- B1FF_PSUVM 9y agoSometimes talking about cars someone brings that up the other way around - rear wheels 'propel', the commonly used 'traction' is about the front wheels pulling the car ...
- janekm 9y agoA propeller propels air behind it. The traction is a side effect by Newton’s third law.
- ithkuil 9y agoFrom Latin: trahere, past participle tractus. Drag, haul.
- TeMPOraL 9y agoWhenever you see "tractor beam" in this context, it most likely refers to "tractor beams" from Star Trek, which are all about pulling stuff towards you.
- Gravityloss 9y agoBesides the farm, also in airplanes. If the propeller is at the front, it's a tractor. If it's at the back, it's a pusher.