Plain English Meaning

Small carbon blades inside a vacuum pump that spin around and push air through, creating the suction the gyro instruments need to work.

Full Definition

Flat rectangular blades made of carbon that slide in and out of slots in the rotor of a dry air vacuum pump. As the rotor spins, the vanes are thrown outward by centrifugal force and seal against the pump housing, trapping and moving air through the pump to create the suction that drives gyroscopic instruments.

Context Anchor

Seen in dry air vacuum pump descriptions, especially when discussing how engine-driven vacuum pumps create for .