thermopile

[thur-muh-pahyl]

noun Physics.

a device consisting of a number of thermocouples joined in series, used for generating thermoelectric current or for detecting and measuring radiant energy, as from a star.

Origin of thermopile

First recorded in 1840–50; thermo- + pile¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for thermopile

Historical Examples of thermopile

The principle of the thermopile we need not describe in detail.
Colour Measurement and Mixture
W. de W. Abney
So far as I know, this is the first application of the thermopile to variables.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 358, November 11, 1882
Various
This may be proved experimentally with proper apparatus, as for example with an instrument known as the thermopile.
Aether and Gravitation
William George Hooper
The heat of a match, or the cold of a piece of ice, will produce a current, even if held at some distance from the thermopile.
Things a Boy Should Know About Electricity
Thomas M. (Thomas Matthew) St. John
For years the efforts of inventors have been directed towards obtaining electrical energy from heat by means of the thermopile.
The inventions, researches and writings of Nikola Tesla
Thomas Commerford Martin

British Dictionary definitions for thermopile

thermopile

noun

an instrument for detecting and measuring heat radiation or for generating a thermoelectric current. It consists of a number of thermocouple junctions, usually joined together in series

Word Origin for thermopile

C19: from thermo- + pile 1 (in the sense: voltaic pile)

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

thermopile in Science

thermopile

[thûr′mə-pīl′]

A device consisting of a number of thermocouples connected in series or parallel, used for measuring temperature or generating current.