ballasts
Heavy stability providers
Ballasts is the plural of ballast—heavy material placed low in a ship or other vessel to improve stability.
Sand, gravel, or water serve as ballast.
The meaning extends to anything that provides steadying weight or influence: Her practical wisdom provided ballasts against his wilder impulses.
In electrical systems, ballasts are devices that regulate current flow to fluorescent lights or other discharge lamps.
Path or monitored route
- sleepersUnactivated spies or surprise hits
- tiesConnections or neckwear
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
- roadbedFoundation beneath railway tracks
subgrade · tamping · drainage · gauge · rail · embankment · crib · shoulder
Dense metal, symbol Pb
- concreteSolid building mixture
- ironElement twenty-six
- sandFine rock particles
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
water · stone · sandbags · ingots · seawater · aggregate · dense · heavy
Hull's structural base
- bilgeShip's water-collecting depths
- holdMaintain in grasp
- hullOuter covering or frame
- cargoTransported goods
seawater · tanks · pumping · draft · displacement · freeboard · listing · heeling
State of balance
- counterweightBalancing mass in machinery
- steadinessState of being constant
- anchoringFastening securely to position
- stabilizationProcess of becoming steady
balance · firmness · trim · draft · displacement · leveling · compensation · correction
Emitting light when energized
- starterInitiator of action
- chokeObstruct breathing or airflow
- transformerVoltage-altering electrical device
- inductanceElectromagnetic inertia of circuits
discharge · ignition · voltage · current · electronic · magnetic · lamp · tube
track
Path or monitored route
- sleepersUnactivated spies or surprise hits
- tiesConnections or neckwear
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
roadbed · subgrade · tamping · drainage · gauge · rail · embankment · crib · shoulder · fouled
lead
Dense metal, symbol Pb
gravel · water · stone · sandbags · ingots · seawater · aggregate · dense · heavy · inexpensive
keel
Hull's structural base
cargo · seawater · tanks · pumping · draft · displacement · freeboard · listing · heeling · deadweight
equilibrium
State of balance
- counterweightBalancing mass in machinery
- steadinessState of being constant
- anchoringFastening securely to position
stabilization · balance · firmness · trim · draft · displacement · leveling · compensation · correction · adjustment
fluorescent
Emitting light when energized
- starterInitiator of action
- chokeObstruct breathing or airflow
- transformerVoltage-altering electrical device
inductance · discharge · ignition · voltage · current · electronic · magnetic · lamp · tube · flicker
- electrical supplieswires, cables, wire, outlets, cable
- fluorescent lightingstrip lights, compact fluorescents, CFLs, starters, tombstones
- indoor growinggrow lights, hydroponics, aquaponics, vertical farming, ebb and flow
- lightinglamp, lamps, bulbs, light bulb, light bulbs
ballastsfloats
Remains on surface
buoys · flotation devices · airbags · helium · counterweights
ballastsengines
Machines converting fuel to motion
propellers · motors · thrusters · jets · sails
- ballast tankCompartment regulating vessel buoyancy
- water ballastLiquid load for stability