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What is "thermal"

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thermal
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
thermal
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
conductivity
▪ The most obvious differences are the lower density and thermal conductivity of plastics compared with glass.
▪ The relatively static lattice in a diamond ensures that the scattering is at a minimum and the thermal conductivity is exceptionally good.
▪ In fact, at room temperature a diamond has a thermal conductivity about six times higher than a piece of copper.
▪ This high thermal conductivity gives diamond a small but useful role in the semiconductor industry.
energy
▪ The thermal energy extracted from the reactor would boil a propellant liquid.
▪ High-temperature electrolysis uses a large amount of electrical and thermal energy.
▪ Near absolute zero, however, molecules have much less thermal energy.
▪ Such molecules are in general less abundant than ground state molecules, because of the Boltzmann distribution of thermal energy.
▪ For example, when coal is burned, chemical energy is transformed into thermal energy.
▪ Rocket engineers speak loosely of thermal energy being converted into kinetic energy in the engine bell.
▪ Consequently, more thermal energy is required before the crystal becomes unstable, and T m is raised.
▪ Any thermal energy is shared by the whole lattice rather than a single nucleus.
expansion
▪ It could make or break with vibration or thermal expansion as the machine warmed up.
▪ So it is difficult to estimate thermal expansion as a result of surface warming.
▪ In the latter case, thermal expansion of the wire proportional to the heating is sensed by mechanical means.
▪ The occurrence of scrub and forest fires provides another mechanism whereby rocks can be subjected to significant thermal expansion and contraction.
▪ Some of the illustrations of shattered pebbles attributed to thermal expansion and contraction are of flint and quartzites.
▪ The importance of thermal expansion, the third mechanism of salt weathering, has yet to be fully evaluated.
insulation
▪ Softboard has a spongy texture, which gives it good sound and thermal insulation properties.
▪ If extra thermal insulation is required flat insulation panels can be laid underneath the profiled Rockwell insulation panels.
▪ Grants may also be available for thermal insulation, or repairs to properties in clearance areas.
▪ The detailed design of the thermal insulation and of the technical elements of the house will be described in the following chapters.
▪ In any case, high-vacuum equipment is needed to ensure adequate thermal insulation.
▪ The ability to operate at these temperatures is advantageous, because liquid nitrogen is cheap and the devices need less thermal insulation.
▪ The remaining third covered anything from thermal insulation and heating through to fire safety and maintenance problems.
▪ The biggest item would be thermal insulation - £5 billion.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ thermal radiation
▪ Runners were given thermal blankets to prevent heat loss at the end of the race.
▪ Wear thermal underwear, hat, and gloves while skiing.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But as the temperature of the material rises thermal vibrations cause the pairs to break apart and superconducting ceases.
▪ For example, when coal is burned, chemical energy is transformed into thermal energy.
▪ Gas is derived primarily from the thermal maturation of organic master, principally plant remains, in a variety of sediments.
▪ It's time to get your thermal vest on, never mind skates.
▪ It seems far more likely that it is this thermal activity that sweeps insects high into the sky on fine days.
▪ One tonne of marijuana has a thermal value of 2.7 barrels of oil.
▪ The thermal shock is, by comparison, bliss.
▪ The islands are also renowned for their thermal springs and sulphur baths.
II.noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Great granite fortresses sprang up in the misty vales and from them Dragon Princes rode the thermals over sullen volcanoes.
▪ In general, the same clothing was used underneath - Rhoval/Modal thermals and Polartec 200 fleece.
▪ In this way it is possible to use the lift low down with safety, provided that the thermals are not too turbulent.
▪ Soon the kites were circling the thermals, a great helix of wide-winged birds sailing the vectors in sweeping corkscrew spirals.
▪ The former occurs both within the thermals and in the slowly downward drifting cold fluid between the thermals.
▪ This creates a breathing space between inner clothes and the waterproof outer skin; important when only thermals are being worn underneath.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Thermal

Thermal \Ther"mal\, a. [L. thermae hot springs, fr. Gr. ?, pl. of ? heat, fr. ? hot, warm, ? to warm, make hot; perhaps akin to L. formus warm, and E. forceps.]

  1. Of or pertaining to heat; warm; hot; as, the thermal unit; thermal waters.

    The thermal condition of the earth.
    --J. D. Forbes.

  2. caused by or affected by heat; as, thermal springs.

  3. designed to retain heat; as, thermal underwear.

    Thermal conductivity, Thermal spectrum. See under Conductivity, and Spectrum.

    Thermal unit (Physics), a unit chosen for the comparison or calculation of quantities of heat. The unit most commonly employed is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of one gram or one pound of water from zero to one degree Centigrade. See Calorie, and under Unit.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
thermal

1756, "having to do with hot springs," from French thermal (Buffon), from Greek therme "heat, feverish heat," from PIE *gwher- "to heat, warm" (cognates: Latin fornax "an oven, kiln," formus "warm," Old English wearm; see warm (adj.)). Sense of "having to do with heat" is first recorded 1837. The noun meaning "rising current of relatively warm air" is recorded from 1933.

Wiktionary
thermal

a. Pertaining to heat or temperature. n. (context meteorology English) A column of rise air in the lower atmosphere created by uneven heating of Earth's surface.

Related phrases:
WordNet
thermal

  1. adj. relating to or associated with heat; "thermal movements of molecules"; "thermal capacity"; "thermic energy"; "the caloric effect of sunlight" [syn: thermic, caloric] [ant: nonthermal]

  2. of or relating to hot a hot spring; "thermal water"

  3. caused by or designed to retain heat; "a thermal burn"; "thermal underwear"

thermal

n. rising current of warm air

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Thermal

A thermal column (or thermal) is a column of rising air in the lower altitudes of Earth's atmosphere, a form of atmospheric updraft. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example of convection, specifically atmospheric convection. The Sun warms the ground, which in turn warms the air directly above it.

Thermal (disambiguation)

Thermal is an adjective related to heat. It may specifically refer to:

  • Thermal column, or just " thermal", an atmospheric convection phenomenon
  • Clothing worn in extreme cold to conserve body heat
  • Thermal radiation
  • Thermal power station, power station that produces electricity using heat
  • Thermography, or thermal imaging
  • Thermal relief used in printed wiring boards
  • The Thermals, indie/punk band from Portland, Oregon
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "thermal".

Edwards had designed the special instrumentation for the Barracuda and the Bluefin that monitored the thermal variations in the water surrounding the submarine, giving the skipper a constant readout of temperature differentials.

Piffelheimer had a perfect opportunity to expound on the value of perfect thermal insulation, but she decided to stay silent.

They had quickly harnessed the hydropower to run their machines and even tapped the thermal flow beneath for added resources.

There is the usual gleaming white oversuit - the thermal micrometeorite garment - with the lower legs and overshoes scuffed and stained with Tycho dust.

When the sun is most spotted its total light may be reduced by one-thousandth part, although it is by no means certain that its outgiving of thermal radiations is then reduced.

Lieutenant Arkadi Papyrin watched the thermal imaging down-link terminal from the RORSAT satellite currently making a pass over the Japanese north island of Hokkaido and the Soya Strait.

The kayak and its parasail bucked and rocked in sudden downdrafts and elevator-quick lifts of thermals.

The strong thermals rising along the cliff face struck the kite like a rising elevator and I was slammed upward, the control bar swinging back against my upper chest hard enough to knock the wind out of me, and the parawing swooped, climbed, and tried to do a lazy loop with a radius of sixty or seventy meters.

At the same instant, my own parawing peeled off the thermal and was swept away to the east.

Deputy Presser removed two more pages from the file, slick old-fashioned thermal fax pages this time, and slid them across to Dale.

We use ASTER technology, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer instruments built into various satellite platforms to track groupings of gases associated with decomposition.

Anakin said, resisting the urge to comm 2-1S about the odds of all three escaping the thermal detonator.

His blunted, part-blinded sensorium translated their speech into waning thermal codes.

Some silicates in the collapsed thermal vent near the recovered material also exhibit stratified spongiform structures highly stromatolitic in appearance, the strata two magnitudes finer than that observed in Terran samples.

She had made good time, only once falling short of the thermal she was aiming at, having to glide sunward and find another and then backtrack.