calcinate
Definition
- Verb:
- To calcine: "calcinate" means to heat a substance to a high temperature but below its melting point, causing it to decompose, oxidize, or become friable. This process is often used in chemistry and metallurgy to remove volatile components or convert a material into a powder.
- To burn to ashes: In a broader sense, "calcinate" can refer to burning something completely until it turns into ash or a powdery residue.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- The chemist will calcinate the limestone to produce quicklime. (Heat the limestone to decompose it into calcium oxide.)
- After the fire, the wood was completely calcinated into fine ash. (Burned entirely to ash.)
Advanced Usage
- "to calcinate ore": a specific industrial process where ore is heated to remove impurities or convert it into a more easily processed form.
- The mining company calcinates the iron ore to drive off water and carbon dioxide. (Heats the ore to remove volatile components.)
Variants and Related Words
- Calcination (n): the process or act of calcinating.
- Calcination is a key step in the production of cement. (The heating process.)
- Calcine (v): a synonym for calcinate, often used interchangeably.
- They calcine the bones to produce bone ash. (Heat bones to a high temperature.)
Synonyms
- Burn: to consume with fire.
- Roast: to heat strongly, often in metallurgy.
- Incineration: the process of burning waste to ash.
Phrasal Verbs
- Calcinate out: to remove a substance by heating.
- The impurities were calcinated out of the metal. (Removed through heating.)
Related Idioms
- Reduce to ashes: to burn completely, similar to calcination.
- The building was reduced to ashes by the fire. (Completely destroyed by burning.)