thermo-, therm-, thermi-, -thermia, -therm, -thermal, -thermic, -thermias, -thermies, -thermous, -thermy

(Greek: heat, heating, heater, hot, warm)

The term heat is employed in ordinary language in different senses. Some scientists distinguish four principal applications of the term:

  1. Sensation of heat.
  2. Temperature, or degree of hotness.
  3. Quantity of thermal energy.
  4. Radiant heat, or energy of radiation.

geothermal heat pump, ground source heat pump (s) (noun); geothermal heat pumps: ground source heat pumps (pl)
Heat pumps which consist of underground coils that transfer heat from the ground to the inside of a building: The large company had a ground source heat pump to heat and to cool their many buildings.
geothermal mining, geothermal silica (s) (noun) (no pl)
1. The extraction of valuable minerals from geothermal fluids: By the way of geothermal mining solid homogeneous inorganic matter, like market-grade silica, can be obtained from a geothermal brine.
2. The process of purposely transporting geothermal energy from beneath the Earth's surface: Geothermal mining can be useful for human utilization, for example for the building of a well and pipeline system to bring heated water to a power plant.
geothermal plant (s) (noun), geothermal plants (pl)
An industrial heat-producing manufacturer in which the prime mover is a steam turbine: Geothermal plants are driven either by vapor produced from hot water or by natural condensation that derives its energy from the hotness found in rock formations of the planet.

Like other related "plant" references, this entry is apparently linked to the action of pressing on a shovel, or some other apparatus, with the "sole of the foot" in order to work the soil for the development of plants.

geothermal reservoir (s) (noun), geothermal reservoirs (pl)
A subsurface system consisting of a large volume of hot water and steam trapped in a porous and fractured hot rock underneath a layer of impermeable rock: Some geothermal reservoirs can be commercially developed as an energy source.

geothermal system (s) (noun), geothermal systems (pl)
A localized geological environment in which circulating steam, or hot water, carries some of the Earth's natural internal heat flow close enough to the surface to be utilized for productive human use: A geothermal system is one kind of technological system that makes use of this heat as an energy source, such as to power an electrical power plant, or to heat or to cool a building.

geothermics, geothermic
Pertaining to the internal heat of the earth; or heat generated in the interior of the earth.
geothermometer
An instrument for measuring subterranean temperatures.
geothermometry
1. The direct or indirect measurement or approximation of the temperatures at which geologic processes take place or have taken place.
2. The study of the earth's heat and temperatures, and their effects on geologic processes.
3. The study of the earth's heat and subsurface temperatures.
4. In geology, a mineral or aggregate of minerals whose presence defines the temperature range of limits within which the minerals were formed; also known as a geologic thermometer.
gigantothermy (s) (noun), gigantothermies (pl)
The ability of an organism to maintain a constant, relatively high body temperature because it has a large body and insulation: Larger animals have gigantothermy and they retain heat better than smaller animals.
heat
1. As part of thermodynamics, a measure of the amount of energy transferred from one body to another because of the temperature difference between those two bodies.
2. The temperature of a body, substance, or physical environment; especially, a relatively high temperature.
3. A form of transferred energy that arises from the random motion of molecules and which is felt as temperature; especially, as warmth or hotness.

Heat is transmitted by conduction, convection, or radiation.

hekistotherm
hekistothermic
1. An organism living above or beyond the tree line and frequently in areas of heavy snow.
2. A plant with a requirement for a temperature of less than 10ºC in the warmest month, typically occurring in regions with a mean annual temperature below 0ºC; sometimes used to refer to those organisms living above the tree line in areas of heavy snow.
3. A plant that can grow in very cold environments, as the arctic and antarctic lichens and mosses.
hekistothermy
heliotherm
1. An organism that warms its body in the direct rays of the sun.
2. A reference to organisms that maintain a comparatively high body temperature by basking in sunlight.
heliothermal
Any process which uses solar radiation to produce useful heat.

Quiz You can find self-scoring quizzes over many of the words in this subject area by going to this Thermo- Vocabulary Quizzes page.

Related "heat, hot" word units: ferv-; pyreto-.

Related "bubble" word unit: ebulli-.