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Actuator
An output component that turns an electrical signal into movement, light, sound or heat, such as a motor, a servo or a buzzer.
Compression
A squashing force that pushes the particles of a material together and tries to make the part shorter.
Gear ratio
The number of teeth on the driven gear divided by the number of teeth on the driver gear, which tells you how much the speed drops and the turning force rises.
Mechanical advantage
How many times a machine multiplies your effort, found by dividing the load by the effort, so a value of 4 means a 20 N push lifts an 80 N load.
Ohm's law
The rule that voltage equals current times resistance, written V = I x R, so if you know any two values you can work out the third.
Sensor
An input component that turns something physical, such as light, heat, movement or distance, into an electrical signal a circuit can read.
Triangulation
Adding a diagonal member to turn a floppy four sided frame into rigid triangles, because a triangle cannot change shape without one of its sides changing length.