Agitation

Origin

Latin agitatus, past participle of agitare, frequentative of agere to drive — more at agent

• 15th Century

Definitions

• 1a obsolete : to give motion to

b : to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action <the storm agitated the sea>

• 2: to excite and often trouble the mind or feelings of : disturb
• 3a : to discuss excitedly and earnestly

b : to stir up public discussion of

Description

An agitator is a device or mechanism to put something into motion by shaking or stirring.

Washing machine agitator

In a top load washing machine the agitator projects from the bottom of the wash basket and creates the wash action by rotating back and forth, rolling garments from the top of the load, down to the bottom, then back up again and due to that it seems so.

There are several types of agitators with the most common are the "straight-vane" and "dual-action." The "straight-vane" is a one-part agitator with bottom and side fins that usually turns back and forth. The Dual-action is a two-part agitator that has bottom washer fins that moves back and forth and a spiral top that rotates clockwise to help guide the clothes to the bottom washer fins.

The modern agitator, which is the dual action, was first made in Kenmore washing machines in the 1980s to present. These agitators are known by Kenmore as dual-rollover and triple-rollover action agitators.

Magnetic agitator

This is a device formed by a little metallic bar (called the agitation bar) which is normally covered by a plastic layer, and by a sheet that has underneath it a rotatory magnet or a series of electromagnets arranged in a circular form to create a magnetic rotatory field. It is very common that the sheet has an arrangement of electric resistances that can heat some chemical solutions.

Thus, during the operation of a typical magnetic agitator, the magnetic agitator bar is moved inside a container that can be a flask or a glass with some liquid inside that can be agitated. The container must be placed on the sheet, so that the magnetic field influences the agitation bar and makes it rotate. This allows it to mix different substances at high speeds.[1]