liquid air
- noun
- /ˈlɪkwɪd ɛr/
- Specialized
- Cave temperatures never rose above -3°C, and the team achieved lower temperatures by using solid carbon dioxide and liquid air.
Examples
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The room was filled with mist as the liquid air seethed until it had cooled Caselon's flask.
Fiction book (1991) -
Liquid air plus glassblowing plus zeolites equals high vacuum.
Blog text (12) -
It only takes liquid air to make either work.
Blog text (12) -
You may fill a flask with liquid air yourself, Master Robinton, and experiment on your own.
Fiction book (1991) -
"When you have become familiar with liquid air, we can begin to learn about the special properties of liquid hydrogen, and especially of liquid helium." "If it's dangerous, should we be doing it?" the Harper asked.
Fiction book (1991) -
"Now, Caselon," Aivas instructed, "return to your workspace and observe the antics of liquid air.
Fiction book (1991) -
Low-temperature physics emerged at about the same time as Physical Review itself, when Z. F. Wroblewski in Cracow succeeded in condensing experimentally useful quantities of liquid air in 1891.
Academic text (1993) -
The scientists used liquid air in their experiments to reach extremely low temperatures.
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Engineers are exploring the potential of liquid air for energy storage and transportation.
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Safety measures are essential when handling liquid air due to its extremely low temperature.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'liquid' (in liquid form) + 'air' (the atmospheric gas) yields 'air that has been liquefied', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the basic concept. Although the full technical sense (an energy storage system using liquefied air) is specialized, the core referent is transparently derived from the constituents and follows a common adjective+noun pattern.
Etymology
Liquid air is ordinary air that has been cooled and put under pressure until it becomes a cold liquid. Imagine air in a bottle like a freezing liquid that turns back into gas when it warms and expands, so labs use it for very cold experiments.