capstan effect

noun

The friction between a rope (or other flexible material) around a curved surface (the capstan) exponentially amplifies the holding force, allowing a small tension on one side to resist a much larger tension on the other.

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Meanings

nouncapstan effect (plural capstan effects)

plural capstan effects

  1. The friction between a rope (or other flexible material) around a curved surface (the capstan) exponentially amplifies the holding force, allowing a small tension on one side to resist a much larger tension on the other.

    When a cable is being installed, the tension in the cable increases in the straight sections of pipe and is reduced at the bends by the ‘capstan effect’, the input and output tensions expressed by the equation:[…].

    1999, Alan Harmer, editor, Communication Cables and Related Technologies, IOS Press, →ISBN, page 194
Cite this entry
APA

capstan effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capstan%20effect

MLA

“capstan effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capstan%20effect. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “capstan effect,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capstan%20effect.

Source: capstan effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.