What is Brake?
[[Image:Brake.agr-edit.jpg|thumb|300px|A bicycle wheel brake.]] A '''brake''' is a device for [[slow]]ing or [[wikt:stop|stopping]] a moving [[machine]] part.<ref>Factum, part 3, page 123, ''Finnish'' {{ISBN|9513566420}} 003 1 398</ref> The most common brakes are for [[wheel]]s, such as those on [[car]]s and [[bicycle]]s. The [[kinetic energy]] lost by the moving part is usually converted into heat by [[friction]]. There are also regenerative braking systems that store some of the energy in a flywheel or capacitor, or convert it to electricity to store in a battery or send to some other machine. The first braking systems were used on horse-drawn vehicles. The horse accelerated the cart to relatively high speeds and could not cope with its stopping by itself. The first mechanisms braked the wheel itself by means of a manual [[lever]] or a system of levers. The first braking systems were used on horse-drawn vehicles. The horse accelerated the cart to high speeds and could not cope with its stopping by itself. The brake used a manual lever or a system of levers to press a wooden block onto the wheel, slowing it by friction. In wet weather, it was ineffective. Later, faster vehicles such as [[bicycle]]<nowiki/>s, [[train]]<nowiki/>s and [[automobile]]<nowiki/>s needed much better brakes, and many kinds were invented. Even some airplanes have brakes to slow them in the air. == Related pages == * [[Railway brake]] ==References== {{wiktionary}} {{Reflist}} {{stub}} [[Category:Basic English 850 words]] [[Category:Tools]]