The Collaborative International Dictionary
Spheroidally
Spheroidal \Sphe*roid"al\, a. [Cf. F. sph['e]ro["i]dal.] Having the form of a spheroid. -- Sphe*roid"al*ly, adv.
Spheroidal state (Physics.), the state of a liquid, as water, when, on being thrown on a surface of highly heated metal, it rolls about in spheroidal drops or masses, at a temperature several degrees below ebullition, and without actual contact with the heated surface, -- a phenomenon due to the repulsive force of heat, the intervention of a cushion of nonconducting vapor, and the cooling effect of evaporation.