A damper is a device that deadens, restrains, or depresses. It may refer to:

Music

Damper pedal A sustain pedal or sustaining pedal (also called damper pedal, loud pedal, or open pedal) is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal " sustains" a ...

, a device that mutes musical tones, particularly in stringed instruments * A mute for various brass instruments

Structure

Damper (flow) A damper is a valve or plate that stops or regulates the flow of air inside a duct, chimney, VAV box, air handler, or other air-handling equipment. A damper may be used to cut off central air conditioning (heating or cooling) to an unused ro ...

, a mechanical device in a duct or chimney that regulates airflow *

Stockbridge damper A Stockbridge damper is a tuned mass damper used to suppress wind-induced vibrations on slender structures such as overhead power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit elect ...

, used to suppress wind-induced vibrations on taut cables *

Tuned mass damper A tuned mass damper (TMD), also known as a harmonic absorber or seismic damper, is a device mounted in structures to reduce mechanical vibrations, consisting of a mass mounted on one or more damped springs. Its oscillation frequency is tune ...

, a device mounted in structures to prevent discomfort, damage or structural failure by vibration

Other uses

Damper (food) Damper is a thick home-made bread traditionally prepared by early European settlers in Australia. It is a bread made from wheat-based dough. Flour, salt and water, with some butter if available, is kneaded and baked in the coals of a campfire, ...

, a bread of the Australian Outback * In

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

, a damper is a device for suppressing

vibrations Vibration () is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. Vibration may be deterministic if the oscillations can be characterised precisely (e.g. the periodic motion of a pendulum), or random if the oscill ...

in a

mechanical system A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...

by dissipating

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

. **

Dashpot A dashpot, also known as a damper, is a mechanical device that resists motion via viscous damping. The resulting force is proportional to the velocity, but acts in the opposite direction, slowing the motion and absorbing energy. It is commonly us ...

, a type of hydraulic or mechanical damper *

Shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...

(British or technical use: ''damper''), a mechanical device designed to dissipate kinetic energy * An item of boiler technology used to regulate the fire * In electronics, a kind of

diode A diode is a two-Terminal (electronics), terminal electronic component that conducts electric current primarily in One-way traffic, one direction (asymmetric electrical conductance, conductance). It has low (ideally zero) Electrical resistance ...

intended to absorb energy peaks, normally generated by inductive circuitry

Music

Structure

Other uses

See also