List of devices

Man-made devices, both manual devices and electrical appliances, past and present.

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T is for Television

A television, or TV, is something you use for watching moving pictures and sound that comes from a distance. Television programs are broadcast from television transmitters, so the television signal comes into your house through cables or in the air from a tower. Your television is just the device that picks up the signal and converts it into something you can watch. You can also play games though your television. Most people today have at least one television in their house.

T is for Thermometer

A thermometer is a device that tells you how hot or cold something is. There are many different types of thermometers for different heat ranges. Some tell you how hot you are so you know if you are so sick you are running a fever. Some tell you what temperature the air is, and others tell you how hot your oven is.

The thermometer in the picture works by the expansion and contraction of mercury as the temperature changes, but most thermometers today are digital and simply display numbers.

T is for Toaster

A toaster is something in your kitchen that is used for making toasted bread, called toast. Toasting involves heating the bread up until it gets darker and crispy.

T is for Torch

A torch is a tool used for light, often a stick with oil-soaked rags wrapped around one end and set alight, and a place to carry it on the other end.
A traffic light or traffic signal is a set of three lights that is used to control the flow of traffic at an intersection.
A green light means you can go, an orange or amber light means you need to be ready to stop, and a red light means you need to stop.

T is for Trap

A trap is something that is used to catch animals or people. Traps generally have bait to lure the intended victim in, and a mechanism that suddenly closes the trap so the victim cannot escape.

T is for Trigger

A trigger is a small device, usually found on a weapon like a gun that makes it fire. In general, a trigger is something that makes an event happen, for example "a heart attack was the trigger that made him change his lifestyle".

T is for Typewriter

Before computers, if someone wanted to write a letter that wasn't handwritten they used a typewriter.
Typewriters work by hitting a ribbon full of ink with a small piece of metal with a letter shape on it when you press the keys on the typewriter keyboard. This leaves the mark of a letter in ink on your piece of paper.

U is for Umbrella

An umbrella is a portable shelter that is used for keeping off the rain. Some people also use umbrellas to shelter them from the sun. Small umbrellas that are mainly for keeping off the sun are called parasols.
A vacuum cleaner, or sometimes a hoover, is a machine that is used to suck dirt and dust from floors inside your house. It works by making a vacuum inside it by pumping the air out of a chamber inside the cleaner, so that air from outside rushes in to fill up the space that is left. The dust is removed from the air by filtering it, usually through some cloth.

W is for Waffle iron

A waffle iron is a special device that makes waffles. It has two hot surfaces that cook the top and bottom of the waffle at the same time, and a pattern in the waffle iron surface that makes waffles look so distinctively like waffles.

W is for Wand

A wand is a kind of ornamental stick that you hold in your hand. Wands can signify power in the same way a sceptre does, or they can be used to channel magic.

W is for Washboard

A washboard is a device that used to be used to wash clothes with before washing machines were invented. Washboards have a bumpy surface that you rub wet, soapy clothes onto to get them clean.
A washing machine is a device that washes your clothes for you. You usually find one of these in the bathroom or laundry of your house, or at a laundromat.

W is for Watch

A watch is something you can use to tell the time on. Watches are small and usually have a strap on, so you can wear them around your wrist. Large watches that you hang on the wall are called clocks.
It is useful to know the time, so you know when to go to school, or have dinner, or watch your favorite TV show.

W is for Wick

A wick is a piece of braided cotton cord that runs through the center of a candle. Wicks work by drawing melted candle wax up from the candle, and the melted wax burns in the wick. You have to light the wick with a match to start the process.

W is for Winch

A winch is a device used for tightening a rope. They can be hand powered or powered by a motor. Winches can be used on a crane to lift things, to tow boats out of the water like the winch in the picture, or to tighten the rigging on a sailboat.