Adiabatic

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Adiabatic \Ad`i*a*bat"ic\, a. [Gr. 'adia`batos not passable; 'a
     priv. + dia` through + bai`nein to go.] (Physics)
     Not giving out or receiving heat. -- {Ad`i*a*bat`ic*al*ly},
     adv.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  


     Note: The adiabatic expansion of carbon dioxide from a
           compressed container causes the temperature of the gas
           to decrease rapidly below its freezing point, resulting
           in the familiar carbon dioxide "snow" emitted by carbon
           dioxide fire extinguishers.
           [PJC.]
  
     {Adiabatic line} or {curve}, a curve exhibiting the
        variations of pressure and volume of a fluid when it
        expands without either receiving or giving out heat.
        --Rankine.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  adiabatic
       adj : occurring without loss or gain of heat; "adiabatic
             expansion" [ant: {diabatic}]