Main
Main (mīn), river, c.310 mi (500 km) long, formed near Kulmbach, E central Germany, by the confluence of the Roter Main and the Weisser Main, both of which rise in the Fichtelgebirge. It then winds generally west through the rich farmland of central Germany and past the industrial areas of Schweinfurt, Würzburg, Aschaffenburg, and Frankfurt to the Rhine River at Mainz. Navigable from its junction with the Regnitz River, its chief tributary, the Main is an important east-west route. The Ludwig Canal connects it with the Danube River. A recently completed addition to the canal links the Danube with the Rhine, allowing barge traffic from the North Sea to the Black Sea, a distance of more than 2,000 mi (3,200 km). There are about 40 hydroelectric power plants on the Main, of which Griesheim (62,000-kW capacity) is the largest.
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Main
In electrical work, the current from which all other branch circuits are taken.
Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Main
a river in the Federal Republic of Germany; the largest right-bank tributary of the Rhine. Length, 524 km; basin area, 27,200 sq km.
The Main is formed by the confluence of the Red Main, which rises on the slopes of the Fränkische Alb, and the White Main, which rises in the Fichtelgebirge mountains. For most of its length the Main flows amid hills in a narrow valley and across a plain. Its high-water period occurs during the winter and the beginning of spring; there are flash floods in the summer, owing to rain. The water level in the Main’s lower course fluctuates by 2-3 m; the average discharge at the mouth is 170 cu m per sec. The Main is navigable for a distance of almost 400 km from the mouth. The Main valley is densely populated, with such cities as Wiirzburg and Frankfurt being located on the river. The waters of the Main are extremely polluted.
Main
a river in Chukchi National Okrug, Magadan Oblast, RSFSR. A right-bank tributary of the Anadyr’ River. Length, 475 km; basin area, 32,800 sq km. The Main rises on the slopes of the Penzhina Range from Lake Main. It flows northeast, for the most part within a broad valley; in its lower course it breaks up into branches. It is fed by snow and rain. The average discharge is about 260 cu m per sec. The Main freezes over in mid-October, and the ice breaks up at the end of May. In its lower course the river is navigable during the high-water period by shallow-draft vessels.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
main
[mān] (electricity)
One of the conductors extending from the service switch, generator bus, or converter bus to the main distribution center in interior wiring.
(engineering)
A duct or pipe that supplies or drains ancillary branches.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
main
1. In an air-conditioning system, a major duct or pipe for distributing to or collecting from various branches.
2. In any system of continuous piping, the principal artery of the system to which branches may be connected.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
main
11. Nautical of, relating to, or denoting any gear, such as a stay or sail, belonging to the mainmast
2. a principal pipe, conduit, duct, or line in a system used to distribute water, electricity, etc.
3. a. the main distribution network for water, gas, or electricity
b. (as modifier): mains voltage
4. Literary the open ocean
main
21. a throw of the dice in dice games
2. a cockfighting contest
Main
a river in central and W Germany, flowing west through W?rzburg and Frankfurt to the Rhine. Length: about 515 km (320 miles)
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005