Compressor
Machine to increase pressure of gas by reducing its volume / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Compressor (disambiguation).
A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Gas_Compressor_wellsite.jpg/640px-Gas_Compressor_wellsite.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/High_pressure_compressor_BellisMorcom.jpg/640px-High_pressure_compressor_BellisMorcom.jpg)
Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps or stages, to increase discharge pressure. Often, the second stage is physically smaller than the primary stage, to accommodate the already compressed gas without reducing its pressure. Each stage further compresses the gas and increases its pressure and also temperature (if inter cooling between stages is not used).