MEASURED MILE

The top of the piston in an internal combustion engine above the fire ring, exposed to direct flame impingement.

Oil-insoluble materials that result from oxidation and decomposition of lube oil and contamination from external sources and engine blow-by. These can settle out on machine or engine parts. Examples are sludge, varnish, lacquer and carbon.

A piece of ice smaller than a BERGY BIT or FLOEBERG, often transparent but appearing green or almost black in color. It extends less than 1 meter above the sea surface and its length is less than 20 feet (6 meters). A growler is large enough to be a hazard to shipping but small enough that it may escape visual or radar detection.

The ratio of actual work output of a heat engine to the ideal output.

Gasoline and diesel engine oil quality levels established jointly by API, SAE, and ASTM, and sometimes called SAE or API/SAE categories; formerly called API Engine Service Classifications.

Measures the radiation absorbed by chemically unbound atoms by analyzing the transmitted energy relative to the incident energy at each frequency. The procedure consists of diluting the fluid sample with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and directly aspirating the solution. The actual process of atomization involves reducing the solution to a fine spray, dissolving it, and finally vaporizing it with a flame. The vaporization of the metal particles depends upon their time in the flame, the flame temperature, and the composition of the flame gas. The spectrum occurs because atoms in the vapor state can absorb radiation at certain well-defined characteristic wave lengths. The wave length bands absorbed are very narrow and differ for each element. In addition, the absorption of radiant energy by electronic transitions from ground to excited state is essentially and absolute measure of the number of atoms in the flame and is, therefore, the concentration of the element in a sample.

A unit of wave length, equal in length to one ten billionth.

Excessive smoothing of the surface finish of the cylinder bore or cylinder liner in an engine to a mirror-like appearance, resulting in depreciation of ring sealing and oil consumption performance.

A chemical compound whose molecules exhibit electrically positive characteristics at one extremity and negative characteristics at the other. Polar compounds are used as additives in many petroleum products. Polarity gives certain molecules a strong affinity for solid surfaces; as lubricant additives (oiliness agents), such molecules plate out to form a tenacious, friction- reducing film. Some polar molecules are oil-soluble at one end and water-soluble at the other end; in lubricants, they act as emulsifiers, helping to form stable oil-water emulsions. Such lubricants are said to have good metal-wetting properties. Polar compounds with a strong attraction for solid contaminants act as detergents in engine oils by keeping contaminants finely dispersed.

Any of a number of systems which characterize lubricants according to viscosity for particular applications, such as industrial oils, gear oils, automotive engine oils, automotive gear oils, and aircraft piston engine oils.