thermal noise

American  

noun

Thermodynamics, Electricity.

1. a wide spectrum of electromagnetic noise appearing in electronic circuits and devices as a result of the temperature-dependent random motions of electrons and other charge carriers.

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thermal noise British  

noun

1. electrical noise caused by thermal agitation of conducting electrons

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Etymology

Origin of thermal noise

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

To address this issue, the team used a technique known as squeezing to reduce the natural thermal noise present in the phonon laser.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

Through this effect, the laser light cools the acoustic vibrations and creates an environment with less thermal noise which is, to an extent, "disturbing" noise for a quantum communication system, for example.

From Science Daily • Jan. 18, 2024

Previously, these temperature differences could not be measured quantitatively due to thermal noise.

From Science Daily • Jan. 17, 2024

But if Hawking were correct, the particles radiating from a black hole were random, a meaningless thermal noise stripped of the details of whatever has fallen in.

From New York Times • Oct. 10, 2022

Operators will also point the telescope at starless areas of sky to understand the “dark current” created by thermal noise in the instrument itself.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 23, 2022