Meaning & use
thermal equilibrium
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Meanings
phraseuncountablephysics
The condition in which objects that touch have the same temperature, so heat no longer passes from one to the other.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and often used with reach or be in: the bodies reach thermal equilibrium.
Patterns
- reach thermal equilibrium
- be in thermal equilibrium with something
A hot cup of tea and the cool room will eventually reach thermal equilibrium.
When the ice stopped melting, the water and ice were in thermal equilibrium.
The thermometer needs time to come to thermal equilibrium with the patient's body.
phraseuncountablephysicstechnical
A state of a whole system in which its temperature is the same throughout and no net heat flows within it.
Grammar: In physics, applies to a single system too, not only to two objects.
Patterns
- a system in thermal equilibrium
A sealed box left alone for hours will settle into thermal equilibrium.
The gas inside the cylinder is in thermal equilibrium when the temperature is uniform.
Common combinations
- reach thermal equilibrium
- The two metal blocks reach thermal equilibrium after ten minutes.
- in thermal equilibrium
- The coffee is not yet in thermal equilibrium with the room.
- achieve thermal equilibrium
- The experiment is complete once the samples achieve thermal equilibrium.
- thermal equilibrium between
- Thermal equilibrium between the two liquids took several minutes.
- disturb thermal equilibrium
- Opening the door will disturb thermal equilibrium inside the oven.
Synonyms and how they differ
- temperature equality
- Temperature equality describes the result, but thermal equilibrium also says that no heat is moving.
- steady state
- A steady state is a condition that does not change over time, but heat may still be flowing, unlike in thermal equilibrium.
Opposites
Word family
- equilibrium noun
- a state of balance
- thermal adjective
- relating to heat
- thermally adverb
- in relation to heat
- thermodynamics noun
- the science of heat and energy
Commonly confused: thermal equilibrium or thermal conductivity?
thermal equilibrium vs thermal conductivity
Thermal conductivity measures how easily a material lets heat pass, while thermal equilibrium is the state reached when heat stops flowing.
Practice
A cup of hot coffee on a desk will eventually reach thermal equilibrium when it ____.
Choose one answer.
Thermal equilibrium means no net heat flow because temperatures are equal. Being colder or hotter than the room would mean heat is still moving.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thermal equilibrium”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.