piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder (engine), cylinder a ...

is an engineering component of engines and pumps. Piston(s) may also refer to:

Science and technology

* Misnomer for a

hydraulic cylinder A hydraulic cylinder (also called a linear hydraulic motor) is a mechanical actuator that is used to give a unidirectional force through a unidirectional stroke. It has many applications, notably in construction equipment ( engineering vehicles ...

Piston (optics) In optics, piston is the mean value of a wavefront or phase profile across the pupil of an optical system. The piston coefficient is typically expressed in wavelengths of light at a particular wavelength. Its main use is in curve-fitting wavefron ...

Piston (subcellular structure) A piston (also known as a dart, prod, or tentacle) is a complex contractile organelle found in some dinoflagellates, namely the ''Erythropsidinium'' and ''Greuetodinium'' genera of the family Warnowiaceae. This group is also well known for possessi ...

Piston valve A piston valve is a device used to control the motion of a fluid or gas along a tube or pipe by means of the linear motion of a piston within a chamber or cylinder. Examples of piston valves are: * The valves used in many brass instruments * ...

Fire piston A fire piston, sometimes called a fire syringe or a slam rod fire starter, is a device of ancient Southeast Asian origin which is used to kindle fire. In Malay it is called "gobek api." It uses the principle of the heating of a gas (in this case ...

, an ancient device for kindling fire *

Gas-operated reloading Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...

, sometimes referred to as a gas piston. * Piston, the working name for the Steam Machine gaming platform

People and groups

* Pist.On, an American heavy metal band *

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, an American basketball team *

Steinbach Pistons The Steinbach Pistons are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada. They are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, which is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. History Southeast Thunderbirds/T-Birds/Bla ...

, a Canadian ice hockey team *

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...

, an American composer *

Web Piston Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by D ...

, a software and web hosting company

Other

Piston (music) The piston ( Breton: pistoñ, English phonetic "pist-on") is a type of oboe invented by Breton musician, teacher, and luthier Youenn Le Bihan in 1983. The pistoñ is a contemporary development of the hautbois, classical and/or baroque oboe, inf ...

, a type of oboe * Piston controls the combination action on a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

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