thermal
- noun
- /ˈθɜrməl/
- Specialized
- The bird expertly caught the thermal, allowing it to climb gracefully above the landscape.
- thermal wind
- thermal power
- thermal system
And so we went to Brazil and I was going to learn how to mountain fly or fly thermals, thermal fly.
- And so we went to Brazil and I was going to learn how to mountain fly or fly thermals, thermal fly.
- What we have done is we've written code that allows us to detect thermals or uplift, similar to what a bird would do, right?
Examples
-
Two eagles whirled in circles overhead, dipping and turning as they rode the thermals.
Fiction book (1992) -
As the glider soared through the sky, it was effortlessly lifted by a thermal that carried it higher.
-
Pick up a thermal coming over the hill.
-
I'm picking something up on the thermal.
-
The question is whether the thermals will hold up.
-
Only occasionally do they flap their wings to take off, change direction, or find a thermal.
Academic text (1999) -
The condors quickly found a warm thermal rising off the cliffs and circled up into the bright blue sky.
Academic text (1999) -
Gliders can actually gain altitude by riding "thermals," pockets of warm air rising from the earth's surface.
Fiction book (1996) -
During the flight, the pilot skillfully maneuvered the glider to take advantage of the rising thermals.
Synonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A unit of heat equal to the heat needed to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit
- Specialized
A harmful rise in river or lake water temperature caused by hot water from factories
- Specialized
A nuclear power plant that makes electricity by splitting atoms with slow neutrons
- Specialized
A state where all parts have the same temperature and no heat flows between them
- Specialized
A limit to how fast planes or spacecraft can go because the air makes them very hot at high speed
- Specialized
An electronic part that changes how much it reduces electric current when it gets hot or cold
- Specialized
A system that uses sunlight to make heat for hot water or heating buildings
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word __thermal__ comes from the Greek root therm- meaning 'heat', and a thermal** (noun) is a rising pocket of warm air that is 'hot' enough to lift birds and gliders so they can go higher.