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inclined plane

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
inclined plane
n.
A plane set at an angle to the horizontal, especially a simple machine used to raise or lower a load by rolling or sliding.

inclined plane
n
a plane whose angle to the horizontal is less than a right angle

inclined plane  (nklnd)
A plane surface, such as a ramp or a blade, set at an acute angle to a horizontal surface, a direction of motion, or a direction of force. Inclined planes are used to increase the distance over which work is done, reducing the amount of force needed to impart energy to a system. Rolling a car up a hill, for example, requires less force than lifting it straight up off the ground. Many tools, such as the ax, wedge, chisel, and highway ramp, exploit the mechanical properties of the inclined plane.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.inclined planeinclined plane - a simple machine for elevating objects; consists of plane surface that makes an acute angle with the horizontal
simple machine, machine - a device for overcoming resistance at one point by applying force at some other point
ramp, incline - an inclined surface connecting two levels
screw - a simple machine of the inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole
wedge - something solid that is usable as an inclined plane (shaped like a V) that can be pushed between two things to separate them


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
The speaker, and the schoolmaster, and the third grown person present, all backed a little, and swept with their eyes the inclined plane of little vessels then and there arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim.
A path, on the principle of an inclined plane, turns round and round the building like a screw, and gives access to the different stories, intersecting each of them in its turn, and thus gradually rising to the top of the wall of the tower.
The only propelling force it ever exhibited, was the mere impetus acquired from the descent of the inclined plane ; and this impetus carried the machine farther when the vanes were at rest, than when they were in motion - a fact which sufficiently demonstrates their inutility ; and in the absence of the propelling, which was also the sustaining power, the whole fabric would necessarily descend.
 
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