English

Noun

thermotics ‎(uncountable)

1. (archaic) that branch of physics dealing with the science of heat
   • 1837, William Whewell, History of the Inductive Sciences, p.465, London: J.W. Parker, 1837.

     I employ the term Thermotics, to include all the doctrines respecting heat, which have hitherto been established on proper scientific grounds.

   • 1895, James W. Steele, Steam Steel and Electricity, p.59, Kessinger Publishing, 2004 ISBN 1419149253.

     Electricity seems destined to annex the whole field, not merely of optics, but probably also of thermotics.

   • 2010, Pascal Le Masson, Benoît Weil, Armand Hatchuel, Stategic Management of Innovation and Design, p.62, Cambridge University Press, 2010 ISBN 0521182433.

     Today, a large amount of scientific knowledge must be produced to design new products, not only in sectors such as pharmaceuticals but also in aeronautics and in seemingly more traditional disciplines such as thermotics.

2. (archaic) thermodynamics

Usage notes

Etymologically, thermotics bears the same relationship to thermodynamics as mechanics bears to dynamics (compare statics), or that hydraulics bears to hydrodynamics (compare hydrostatics). However, thermodynamics is the more usual term in modern usage.