superheatedadj.
/ˌsuːpəˈhiːtᵻd/, /ˌsjuːpəˈhiːtᵻd/, U.S. /ˌsupərˈhidᵻd/ 1.
a. Of steam: heated to a temperature above the boiling point of water (i.e., above the temperature at which steam is saturated; cf. saturated steam at saturated adj. 7). Also in extended use of any vapour heated to a corresponding degree.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > [adjective] > fully charged > above saturation
superheated1827
1827 Franklin Jrnl. 3 418 If heated water were suddenly injected into the superheated steam, the effect would instantly be, the formation of highly elastic steam.
1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts 1st Ser. 377/1 By applying superheated steam both time and fuel are saved.
1915 Nature 11 Feb. 662/1 The iodine which is transpired as superheated vapour is condensed there.
1944 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 150 83 The steel is heated..first in air, then in superheated steam and finally in a producer-gas atmosphere.
1986 Times 28 May 2/5 The next step is to drill deeper, using the boreholes to boil water into super-heated steam at 200C.
2006 Wired May 38/2 Pyroclastic flow... Columns of superheated steam, ash, and rock interact with the atmosphere then return to Earth with a vengeance.
b. Of water: heated under pressure to a temperature above its normal boiling point, without vaporization. Also in extended use of any liquid or solid heated above the temperature of a phase transition without any change of phase.
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1856 J. Bourne in Armstrong's Mod. Pract. Boiler Engin. (rev. ed.) 3 The theoretical condition under which we would obtain the full effect of the heat in a steam engine consists in heating the water to the temperature of the furnace, and in suffering this superheated water to expand under such circumstances, that during its expansion it would produce power.
1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) xxi. 501 Neumann and Giertsen..obtained a current efficiency of over 50 per cent., owing to much of the anodic water being carried off from the locally superheated electrolyte.
1957 H. S. Zim & P. R. Shaffer Rocks & Minerals 61 Superheated water is pumped down large pipes, melting the sulfur.
1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 492 Superheated crustal melts (i.e., melts at temperatures above their liquidus) will not exist for any considerable length of time, but the excess heat will induce melting of surrounding rock.
2003 J. H. Lienhard Inventing Mod. xii. 192 The real threat to a nuclear power plant is not a nuclear explosion, but a superheated water explosion.
c. Of a steam engine, locomotive, etc.: employing superheated steam, equipped with a superheater.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [adjective] > propelled by steam
steam1812
superheated1864
1864 J. Timbs Year-bk. Facts in Sci. & Art 33 The engines..will be furnished by Messrs. Maudslay, Sons, and Field, of their patented three-cylinder principle, super-heated and surface-condensing apparatus, with all the latest improvements.
1911 Daily News 25 Jan. 2 The North-Western Company are now constructing..twenty superheated engines.
1999 Independent 1 Mar. ii. 6/4 Twenty [locomotives] were ordered for Burma with superheated roundtop fireboxes.
2000 P. W. B. Semmens & A. J. Goldfinch How Steam Locomotives really Work iii. 53 All boilers have these so-called ‘small tubes’, but, if the locomotive is superheated, there is also a lesser number of large tubes or ‘flues’.
2. gen. Heated above the ordinary temperature or degree; excessively heated or hot. Frequently figurative.
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the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [adjective]
excess?a1400
excessive1477
excessful1633
excedent1660
superheated1831
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > [adjective] > heated or warmed > heated excessively
forchafed1523
overheated1650
superheated1862
1831 London Lit. Gaz. 13 Aug. 515/2 Leaving..the super-heated heat of politics..to the ambitious and avaricious slaves of the world.
1862 J. A. Clarke What Prophets Foretold ii. 16/2 He..was confounded by the miracle of the three Hebrew youths remaining unscorched in the super-heated fiery furnace.
1888 G. M. Fenn Off to Wilds xxii. 157 They were up in one of the superheated rifts among the rocks, with the sun pouring down.
1912 Hibbert Jrnl. Oct. 30 This gathering of super-heated men.
1948 C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 1 He wouldn't have kicked the ball through the window if we hadn't just got super-heated by winning the battle against Toppy's company.
1997 R. J. Rummel Power Kills vii. 105 The superheated hatred and revengefulness of majorities could drive democratic nations to war.
2002 High Country News 24 June 10/1 African bees evolved in the superheated tropics.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1827