The Pedal reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Pedal

A pedal is a lever activated by one's foot. Examples include:

• An automobile has usually three pedals, from left to right:
  • operated by the left foot:
    • clutch pedal (except in the case of automatic transmission)
  • operated by the right foot:
    • brake pedal, which is usually wide and elevated well above the car floor
    • gas pedal (accelerator): controls fuel supply to the automobile's engine. It is usually narrow and close to the car floor allowing the driver's heel to rest on the car floor.
• Bicycle pedal: on a bicycle, each of two platforms at the end of the crank arms, connected such that while the crank arms rotate, the pedals can stay parallel to the shoe soles; this human powered rotation provides the propulsion, usually through a bicycle chain that makes the back wheel turn. In the case of a back pedalling brake, they are also used for applying the brake in the back wheel, again through the chain.
• Organ pedal: a pedal on an organ that acts like a key on the organ keyboard; when depressed, it causes a note (or group of notes) to sound.
• Pedal tone: a nonchord tone, usually the tonic or dominant held for an extended period of time.

Geometry: see also pedal triangle, pedal curve.

This is the "Pedal" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.