heat treatmentn.
a. The specialized application of heat to various substances to produce a desired metallurgical or physical condition, e.g. hardness, softness, toughness.
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society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > heating
hot working1839
heat treatment1895
hot work1905
1895 H. M. Howe in Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1894 24 746 I..call your attention to two directions in which very important progress may be..hoped for—pyrometry and the heat-treatment of steel.
1895 H. M. Howe in Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1894 24 747 In the hardening and tempering of tools, in the annealing of steel castings,..and in the manufacture of guns, projectiles, and armor, we have already extensive and careful if empirical heat-treatment.
1899 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 54 147 The simple heat treatment had converted the more or less brittle annealed material into tough and strong steel.
1904 F. W. Harbord & J. W. Hall Metall. Steel xxxix, (title) Heat treatment of steel.
1908 Chem. Abstr. 2 1121 The Structure of Metals. Changes Produced by Working and by Heat Treatment.
1947 Food & Drugs Statut. Rules & Orders dcxii. (heading) The ice cream (heat treatment, etc.) regulations, 1947.
1947 Food & Drugs Statut. Rules & Orders dcxii The mixture shall be subjected to heat treatment as follows [etc.].
1950 J. G. Davis Dict. Dairying 332 Heat treatment of milk. The term is a general one covering any of the ordinary commercial heating methods by which the keeping quality of milk is enhanced and pathogenic organisms destroyed.
1956 Nature 25 Feb. 360/1 He invented the heat-treatment which has for decades been applied as compulsory routine at every ginnery in the country.
1971 Nature 26 Nov. 231/1 Heat treatment (57°C for 30 s in summer) disrupted the layer into irregular globules.
b. The therapeutic use of heat, esp. radiant and infra-red heat.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > heat treatment > [noun]
thermo-therapy1860
heat treatment1934
1934 J. E. Mansion Harrap's Fr. & Eng. Dict. 837/2 Thermothérapie, heat cure, heat treatment, thermotherapy.
1967 Listener 5 Oct. 427/2 He asked for..heat treatment, which my wife should apply herself.
Derivatives
heat-treat v.
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1908 Westm. Gaz. 2 June 4/2 With these alloying materials added to steel small gears can be made that, if properly heat-treated, they will be so tough and strong as to make it impossible to break out a tooth even with a sledge-hammer.
1956 Nature 3 Mar. 436/2 The specimen [of an alloy] had been heat-treated.
1963 B.S.I. News Feb. 17/1 Fifteen different steels..were heat-treated by the National Engineering Laboratory.
heat-treatable adj.
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1960 Times (Royal Soc. No.) 19 July p. xxi/3 Heat-treatable aluminium alloys.
heat-treated adj.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > subjection or exposure to heat or fire > [adjective] > subjected to heat or fire
decoctc1420
concoct1534
well-burnt1548
burnt1661
heat-treated1946
1946 Nature 27 July 120/2 Plants from heat-treated grain were..somewhat shorter in the straw.
1947 Hansard, Commons 4 Dec. 559 Mr. Lambert asked the Minister of Education the number of rural schools..in which the children are supplied with heat-treated milk.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 5 Jan. 64 All seed grown from heat-treated stocks.
heat-treating n.
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1908 Westm. Gaz. 2 June 4/2 The wonderful effect of heat-treating [of steel].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1976; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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