English compound of 'fly' (regulator) + 'wheel,' popularized by Watt's steam engine designs in the 1780s.
A heavy revolving wheel in a machine that stores rotational energy and smooths out variations in the speed of the engine.
Compound of 'fly' (in the mechanical sense of a regulating device) + 'wheel.' The 'fly' element refers to a governor or regulator, not to flight. James Watt popularized the flywheel in steam engine design, though the principle of rotational inertia storage dates to potters' wheels in antiquity. Key