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Glite Dictionary
thermionic emission

thermionic emission

9.1
Electrons escape from a hot metal surface
  • noun
  • /ˌθɜrmiˈɑnɪk ɪˈmɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : emisión termiónica
  • During the experiment, they observed significant thermionic emission when the metal was heated to high temperatures.

Examples

  • We just need to test if the only thing missing here is the thermionic emission to make the display work, so the DC test is fine.

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  • This would put 100 mA through the filament and should cause the thermionic emissions we need.

    Blog text (28)

  • It seems the radio has a dead heater driver for the cathode filament, which should be producing the thermionic emission of electrons needed to cause the fluorescent tracks to fluoresce.

    Blog text (28)

  • The scientists studied the process of thermionic emission to enhance the efficiency of vacuum tubes.

  • Understanding thermionic emission is crucial for developing better electronic devices that rely on electron flow.

Synonyms

thermal emission
vsthermionic emission
  • Specialized
6.8

The release of electrons from a material because it is very hot

is limited to heated materials, especially metals, not all materials

Surface Forms

thermionic emission singular
thermionic emissions plural

Morphology

thermionic + emission

Both constituents are compositional: 'thermionic' denotes heat-related (electron/ion) effects and 'emission' means release, so together they straightforwardly indicate the release of electrons from a heated material. This follows normal English technical compounding and would be understandable to a learner who already knows the constituent meanings.

Etymology

The term thermionic emission comes from parts like thermo, meaning 'heat', and emission, meaning 'sending out'. Picture a hot metal that makes tiny charged particles called electrons jump away, so the phrase refers to 'the release of electrons from a heated material'.