What is "calefaction"

Calefaction \Cal`e*fac"tion\, n. [L. calefactio: cf. F. cal['e]faction.]

1. The act of warming or heating; the production of heat in a body by the action of fire, or by communication of heat from other bodies.

2. The state of being heated.

n. 1 The act of warming or heating. 2 The state or condition of being heated.

n. the property of being warming [syn: incalescence]

Calefaction comes from the Latin calor, meaning "heated", and facere, "to make". Generally, that is what the term means: to heat, or make heated. In the modern sciences, the term calefaction shows up occasionally in relation to the fields of cryogenics, geology, mineralogy, inorganic chemistry, material sciences, and both scientifically and commercially in the study and process of sintering.

One example of the usage of the term is given by the French chemist and pharmacologist Pierre H. Boutigny, who became known for his "calefaction experiments," where he studied and expanded our understanding of what is known as the Leidenfrost Phenomenon, which appropriately describes the effect of a liquid on a heated (often metal) interface above and near the liquids boiling point.

The term calefaction has also been used in the manufacturing of steam engines and steam cars. Two examples of this are the Serpollet generator and the Paul Jacquot engine.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the French "calfas", the Portuguese "calefetagem", and the Spanish calafateo" were all translated as " caulking". The process involved driving fibrous material into the seams between hull planks, and then covering the seams with melted pine pitch.