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Glite Dictionary
thermionics

thermionics

9.9
A field of electronics that studies how heated metal sends out electrons for vacuum tubes
  • noun
  • /ˌθɜrmiˈɑnɪks/
  • Archaic
: termiónica
  • The study of thermionics includes the analysis of electron emission from heated metals and the design of thermionic vacuum tubes.

Examples

  • The principles of thermionics are applied in the design of thermionic vacuum tubes used in older radio equipment.

  • Advances in thermionics have led to improved performance in high-temperature electronic components used in spacecraft.

  • TFS Technologies, Inc. #1233 Thermionics Laboratory, Inc. #1002, 1004

    Academic text (1997)

Surface Forms

thermionics singular
thermionics plural

Morphology

thermionics = thermion (semi-transparent) = thermion + ics

The formation with the discipline suffix '-ics' is regular, but the base 'thermion' is a technical term that an average learner may not know.

Etymology

Thermionics comes from the Greek root therm- meaning 'heat' and ion meaning 'charged particle'. So thermionics is the study of tiny charged particles called electrons that are given off when materials are heated, which explains its use for electronics like vacuum tubes.