adjective
definition
Of a chemical reaction that absorbs heat energy from its surroundings.
definition
Of an animal whose body temperature is regulated by internal factors.
Examples of endothermic in a Sentence
The very large sauropods could not eat enough to have sustained endothermic metabolism, given likely estimates of bite size and nutrient values.
Acetylene is one of those bodies the formation of which is attended with the disappearance of heat, and it is for this reason termed an "endothermic" compound, in contradis thermic tinction to those bodies which evolve heat in their nature of formation, and which are called "exothermic."
This simply means that a reaction which is exothermic in one direction will be endothermic in the other direction.
Such endothermic bodies are nearly always found to show considerable violence in their decomposition, as the heat of formation stored up within them is then liberated as sensible heat, and it is undoubtedly this property of acetylene gas which leads to its easy detonation by either heat or a shock from an explosion of fulminating mercury when in contact with it under pressure.
Compounds formed with the evolution of heat are termed exothermic, while those formed with an absorption are termed endothermic. Explosives are the commonest examples of endothermic compounds.
If any individual blow proves to be too hot, it may be cooled by throwing cold " scrap " steel such as the waste ends of rails and other pieces, into the converter, or by injecting with the blast a little steam, which is decomposed by the iron by the endothermic reaction H20+Fe=2H+Fe0.
Substances with positive heats of formation are termed exothermic; those with negative heats of formation are termed endothermic. The latter, which are not very numerous, give out heat on decomposition into their elements, and are more or less unstable.
Amongst endothermic compounds may be noted hydriodic acid, HI, acetylene, C 2 H 2, nitrous oxide, N 2 O, nitric oxide, NO, azoimide, N 3 H, nitrogen trichloride, NC1 3.