The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
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Of or pertaining to heat; warm; hot; as, the thermal unit; thermal waters.
The thermal condition of the earth.
--J. D. Forbes. caused by or affected by heat; as, thermal springs.
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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.
Usage examples of "thermal unit".
And gross domestic product was one of those unfortunate measurement concepts, like inches or the British thermal unit, that ought to have been retired long before.
There must be a way to jury-rig a thermal unit or a light source to dump power into the blaster charge packs.
Has a high-resolution color video display unit mounted in the same console as a thermal unit that records the ocean floor in 256 shades of gray.
Nothing as spectacular as an explosion-merely a small thermal unit to fuse the circuitry.