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Well 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
by navaati 9y ago
Well 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.