liquid air
- noun
- /ˈlɪkwɪd ɛr/
- Specialized
:
aire líquido
- The pilot plant uses liquid air to store excess wind energy for later electricity generation.
Examples
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When demand rises, the plant warms liquid air and uses the expanding gas to spin turbines.
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Engineers are developing large-scale liquid air systems to balance variable renewable power on the grid.
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The concept of liquid air is still relatively new.
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Imagine a world powered by liquid air energy!
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The pilot plant uses liquid air to store excess wind energy for later electricity generation.
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Engineers are developing large-scale liquid air systems to balance variable renewable power on the grid.
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When demand rises, the plant warms liquid air and uses the expanding gas to spin turbines.
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 air cooled into a cold liquid and kept to 'store energy'. Imagine a big tank filled with very cold liquid air; when it is warmed it becomes gas, expands and can turn turbines to make electricity, so this system is used to store and release energy.
