[ RadSafe ] Airplanes, cosmic rays, DU, tritium and similar absurdities

[Otto Raabe]

At 06:38 AM 12/19/2006, Ellars, Charles wrote:
>I raise my hand as saying the word "ballast" instead of "counterweight" ....
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According to my American Heritage Dictionary:

ballast: (n) 1. Any heavy material placed in the hold of a ship or the 
gondola of a balloon to enhance stability. 2. That which gives stability.

To me, ballast seems to be the correct term if the purpose is stability in 
an aircraft.

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counterweight (n) 1. A weight used as a counter balance.

To me this is a balance between two forces as over a pulley. It does not 
seem to exactly apply to ships, balloons, or aircraft.

Otto






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Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
Center for Health & the Environment
University of California
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
E-Mail: ograabe at ucdavis.edu
Phone: (530) 752-7754   FAX: (530) 758-6140
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