thermal barrier

American  

noun

Aeronautics, Rocketry.

1. the high temperatures produced by the friction between a supersonic object and the earth's atmosphere that limit the speed of an airplane or rocket.

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thermal barrier British  

noun

1. Also called: heat barrier.  an obstacle to flight at very high speeds as a result of the heating effect of air friction

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Etymology

Origin of thermal barrier

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

For decades, this thermal barrier has been one of the toughest challenges in engineering.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

The biggest focus of current green-building efforts is on the “building envelope,” which is the thermal barrier between the inside of your home and the outdoor environment.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 15, 2022

Buried inside the extra-thick walls of these homes are layers of high-density fiberglass insulation flanked by rigid foam boards taped together at the seams to forge a thermal barrier.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 14, 2016

More and more kings are moving up the Columbia and arriving in Brewster every day, and that thermal barrier will keep them there.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 11, 2012

To find the practical limits of the thermal barrier, says Rice, "take a hypothetical missile flying at 2,000 m.p.h. at 60,000 ft."

From Time Magazine Archive