Literary notes about Suction (AI summary)
The term “suction” traverses a broad terrain in literature, appearing both in technical expositions and in richly imaginative narratives. In scientific and engineering contexts, it describes the mechanics of fluid movement and the operation of pumps and valves, as in discussions of water drawn through suction pipes or engines leveraging vacuum pressure [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. Meanwhile, its usage in fiction often casts suction as a potent force—physical or metaphorical—that conveys attraction, struggle, or inevitability, as when Jules Verne evokes the menacing grip of an undersea current [6], [7] or when Dickens infuses everyday actions with a tangible, dynamic quality [8]. This versatility allows suction to embody both the literal and the symbolic, enhancing descriptions in texts that range from technical manuals to creative prose.
- It is not a difficult task to put new packing on a small suction pump.
— from Mechanical Devices in the Home by Edith Allen - This was because No. 2 was drawing most of the water, and No. 1 received only that which No. 2 could not pull from the suction pipe A .
— from Steam Turbines A Book of Instruction for the Adjustment and Operation of the Principal Types of this Class of Prime Movers by Hubert E. (Hubert Edwin) Collins - THE SIPHON is an interesting application of the principle of [Pg 352] suction.
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams - The vacuum pressures indicate the extent of the “suction” created by the piston when drawing in a charge of air and gas.
— from Practical Hand Book of Gas, Oil and Steam Engines Stationary, Marine, Traction; Gas Burners, Oil Burners, Etc.; Farm, Traction, Automobile, Locomotive; A simple, practical and comprehensive book on the construction, operation and repair of all kinds of engines. Dealing with the various parts in detail and the various types of engines and also the use of different kinds of fuel. by John B. Rathbun - At sea-level, therefore, the lifting power of a pump by suction is limited to 34 feet.
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams - For one instant, I thought the unhappy man, entangled with the poulp, would be torn from its powerful suction.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - For an instant I thought the poor man entwined by the devilfish might be torn loose from its powerful suction.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - ‘Wery good power o’ suction, Sammy,’ said Mr. Weller the elder, looking into the pot, when his first-born had set it down half empty.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
