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adiabatic

American  
[ad-ee-uh-bat-ik, ey-dahy-uh-] / ˌæd i əˈbæt ɪk, ˌeɪ daɪ ə- /

adjective

  1. occurring without gain or loss of heat (opposed to diabatic).

    an adiabatic process.


adiabatic British  
/ ˌeɪ-, ˌædɪəˈbætɪk /

adjective

  1. (of a thermodynamic process) taking place without loss or gain of heat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a curve or surface on a graph representing the changes in two or more characteristics (such as pressure and volume) of a system undergoing an adiabatic process

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
adiabatic Scientific  
/ ăd′ē-ə-bătĭk /
  1. Occurring without gain or loss of heat. When a gas is compressed under adiabatic conditions, its pressure increases and its temperature rises without the gain or loss of any heat. Conversely, when a gas expands under adiabatic conditions, its pressure and temperature both decrease without the gain or loss of heat. The adiabatic cooling of air as it rises in the atmosphere is the main cause of cloud formation.


Other Word Forms

  • adiabatically adverb

Etymology

Origin of adiabatic

1875–80; < Greek adiábat ( os ) incapable of being crossed ( a- a- 6 + dia- dia- + ba- (stem of baínein to cross) + -tos verbal adjective suffix) + -ic; cf. diabatic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

According to the target evolution of spin qubits, this group's experiment adds another effective driving to suppress diabatic errors, which guarantees a fast and nearly ideal adiabatic evolution.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2024

In contrast, adiabatic evolution can always keep the quantum system in its eigenstate.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2024

This work may be applicable to other adiabatic passage and will be useful for fast and high-fidelity quantum control.

From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2024

The cycle comprises two isothermal and two adiabatic processes.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

A sufficiently close approximation to the adiabatic curve to enable the non-professional engineer to form an idea of the difference between the two may be produced by the following process: Fig.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua