Editing Windage (section)

==Usage==
{{more citations needed|section|date=December 2013}}

=== Aerodynamics ===
'''Windage''' is a [[force]] created on an object by [[friction]] when there is relative movement between [[air]] and the object. '''Windage loss''' is the reduction in efficiency due to windage forces.

For example, electric motors are affected by friction between the rotor and air.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/Electrical_Machinery_Windage_Loss_White_Paper.pdf |title=Electrical Machinery Windage Loss |last=Xdot Engineering and Analysis with Computer Aided Engineering Associates |website=CAE Associates |date=24 August 2015 |access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref> Large [[alternator]]s have significant losses due to windage. To reduce losses, [[hydrogen gas]] may be used, since it is less dense.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://electricalengineeringtutorials.com/advantages-of-hydrogen-cooling-in-generators-or-alternators/ |title=Advantages of Hydrogen Cooling in Generators |access-date=2019-05-29 |archive-date=2019-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529220839/http://electricalengineeringtutorials.com/advantages-of-hydrogen-cooling-in-generators-or-alternators/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There are two causes of windage:
# The object is moving and being slowed by [[Air resistance|resistance]] from the air.
# A [[wind]] is blowing, producing a [[force]] on the object.

The term can refer to:
* The effect of the force, for example the deflection of a missile or an aircraft by a cross wind.
* The area and shape of the object that make it susceptible to friction, for example those parts of a [[boat]] that are exposed to the wind.

[[Aerodynamic]] [[streamliner|streamlining]] can be used to reduce windage.

There is a [[hydrodynamics|hydrodynamic]] effect similar to windage, [[drag (physics)|hydrodynamic drag]].

=== Ballistics ===
In [[firearms]] parlance, the word ''windage'' refers to the [[sight (device)|sight]] adjustment used to compensate for the horizontal deviation of the [[projectile]] [[trajectory]] from the intended point of impact due to [[external ballistics#Wind|wind drift]] or [[Coriolis effect]]. By contrast, the adjustment for the vertical deviation is the ''[[elevation (ballistics)|elevation]]''.

The colloquial term "Kentucky windage" refers to the practice of holding the aim to the [[upwind]] side of the target (also known as [[deflection shooting]] or "leading" the wind) to compensate for wind drift, without actually changing the existing adjustment settings on the [[gunsight]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXY0yQnvmmUC&q=Kentucky+windage%29&pg=PA382 | title=The Facts on File Dictionary of American Regionalisms | publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] | author=Hendrickson, Robert | year=2000 | isbn=9781438129921}}</ref>

In [[muzzleloading]] firearms, ''windage'' also refers to the difference in diameter between the bore and the [[round shot|ball]], especially in [[musket]]s and [[cannon]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=An elementary treatise on artillery and infantry|last=Kingsbury|first=Charles P.|year=1849|page=59|publisher=GP Putnam|place=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9xVAAAAYAAJ&q=windage&pg=PA59|oclc=761213440}}</ref> The bore gap allows the shot to be loaded quickly, but reduces the efficiency of the weapon's [[internal ballistics]], as it allows gas to leak past the projectile. It also reduces the accuracy, as the ball takes a zig-zag path along the barrel, emerging out of the muzzle at an unpredictable angle.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/theorymusketry00kenngoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/theorymusketry00kenngoog/page/n33 27] |quote=windage musket. |title=The Theory of Musketry |last=Kennedy |first=John Clark |date=1855 |via=Internet Archive |access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref>

=== Automobiles ===
In automotive parlance, windage refers to parasitic drag on the [[crankshaft]] due to [[sump]] oil splashing on the crank train during rough driving, as well as dissipating energy in turbulence from the crank train moving the crankcase gas and oil mist at high RPM. Windage may also inhibit the migration of oil into the sump and back to the oil pump, creating lubrication problems. Some manufacturers and aftermarket vendors have developed special scrapers to remove excess oil from the counterweights and windage screens to create a barrier between the crankshaft and oil sump.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crank-scrapers.com/What%20is%20a%20crank-scraper.html|title=What is a crank scraper}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles/ctrp_0603_oil_pan_design_windage_tech/index.html |title=Oil Pan Design Oil Windage Tech - Overview Circle Track Magazine |website=www.circletrack.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113105/http://www.circletrack.com/techarticles/ctrp_0603_oil_pan_design_windage_tech/index.html |archive-date=2007-08-25}}</ref>