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Letter W

W is for…

NASA’s Picture Dictionary

Check out what W stands for…

Wavelength
Weather
Weight
Wind Tunnel
Workforce

Wavelength

The distance between one peak or crest of a wave of light, heat, or other energy and the next peak or crest.

Wavelength diagram showing a blue line going up and down and then up again
Radio waves, television waves and microwaves have different wavelengths.
NASA

Sentences:
NASA’s satellites study different wavelengths of light from space.
Wavelengths can look like waves in the ocean. Some wavelengths are small and others are huge.

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Weather

The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. Things like temperature, moisture, wind velocity and barometric pressure influence the weather.

Funnel cloud of a tornado and a giant sky-to-ground lightning bolt against a night sky
Lightning can help scientists who study the weather understand more about storms.
NASA

Sentences:
If the weather is stormy, the rocket may not launch.
People check the weather before they go outside.

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Weight

The measure of the pull of gravity on an object.

Cartoon airplane flying in a cloudy sky with red arrows pointing down with the word WEIGHT on each of them
Just like a person’s body, an airplane’s weight is pulled downward toward Earth.
NASA

Sentence:
NASA astronauts do not feel the effect of gravity in space. So, while in space, they feel weightless or like they have no weight.

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Wind Tunnel

A tunnel area through which air is blown to check how air flows around an object (such as an airplane part or model) placed in the tunnel.

Model of a plane being tested inside a wind tunnel
NASA tests aircraft in wind tunnels.
NASA

Sentences:
Engineers found a problem when the airplane model was tested in the wind tunnel.
Before building the rocket, NASA tested a model of it in the wind tunnel.

Related Links:
Rocket Wind Tunnel Test
What Are Wind Tunnels? (Grades K-4)
What Are Wind Tunnels? (Grades 5-8)

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Workforce

The workers of a specific activity or business

Group picture of workers standing outside at Stennis Space Center
This group picture shows some of the workforce at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
NASA

Sentences:
The NASA workforce includes people who work in many different kinds of jobs.
The workforce at our school includes teachers, principals, counselors, aides, janitors and lunchroom workers.

Related Links:
NASA Careers and People

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