different between thermal vs dethermalizer

English

Etymology

From French thermal, from New Latin *thermalis, from Ancient Greek ????? (thérm?, “heat”), from Proto-Indo-European *g??er- (“to heat, warm”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???m?l/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m?l

Adjective

thermal (not comparable)

1. Pertaining to heat or temperature.
2. (fabric) Providing efficient insulation so as to keep the body warm.
3. Caused or brought about by heat.
4. (stone) Having a rough finish by treatment with a blow-torch.

Hyponyms

• aerothermal
• hydrothermal

Derived terms

• thermally

Related terms

• therm
• thermo-

Translations

Noun

thermal (plural thermals)

1. (meteorology) A column of rising air in the lower atmosphere created by uneven heating of Earth's surface.

Synonyms

• thermal column

Translations

Verb

thermal (third-person singular simple present thermals, present participle thermaling or thermalling, simple past and past participle thermaled or thermalled)

1. (stone) To create a rough finish on stone by treating it with a high-temperature blow-torch.
2. (gliding, often in the present participle) To fly an unpowered aircraft in a (thermal) column of rising air.

Coordinate terms

• edge (creating a finish on stone)
• thermal edge (creating a finish on stone)
• gliding (fly an unpowered aircraft)

Further reading

• thermal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• thermal in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Etymology

From Ancient Greek.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t??.mal/

Adjective

thermal (feminine singular thermale, masculine plural thermaux, feminine plural thermales)

1. thermal

Further reading

• “thermal” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Interlingua

Adjective

thermal (not comparable)

1. thermal

Related terms

• thermic

English

Noun

dethermalizer (plural dethermalizers) (Abbreviated as: DT)

1. A device that alters the aerodynamics of an airplane, glider etc, allowing it to descend quickly but safely, especially when caught in a thermal

   "One of the most bittersweet joys in model aviation is an out of sight flight by a Free Flight model. While we all strive for our models to fly as well as we can, it is possible to have a model fly too well. Well trimmed, and with a bit of luck, a model can be caught in a thermal and climb to beyond the limits of our vision. It is the purpose of a dethermalizer to effect a change in the geometry of a model, such that it descends more rapidly, yet still safely. Getting the DT to activate after a target time is the job of a DT timer." ~ Thayer Syme. Reprinted with permission.

References

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