A rotating part of a machine, especially the blades of a helicopter or the rotating assembly in an electric motor.
From Latin 'rotare' meaning 'to rotate' plus the agent suffix '-or'. The term emerged in the early 20th century with the development of rotating machinery and aviation technology.
The rotor revolutionized flight by solving the age-old problem of vertical takeoff - helicopter rotors create lift by spinning through the air like a horizontal propeller, allowing aircraft to hover and land anywhere. Interestingly, the same principle applies to electric motors where rotors spin within magnetic fields to convert electrical energy into mechanical motion.
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