​TURBINE (Lat. turbo, a whirlwind, a whirling motion or object, a top), in engineering, a machine which applies the energy of a jet of water or steam to produce the rotation of a shaft. It consists essentially of a wheel or chamber provided with a number of blades or vanes upon which the fluid jet impinges; the impelled fluid causes the blades to rotate and also the shaft to which they are attached. Water turbines are treated under Hydraulics, and steam turbines under Steam Engine.