| the heating of a nonconducting substance caused by dielectric loss when the material is placed in a variable electric field. |

| dielectric heating n. The heating of electrically nonconducting materials by a rapidly varying electromagnetic field. |
dielectric heating
method by which the temperature of an electrically nonconducting (insulating) material can be raised by subjecting the material to a high-frequency electromagnetic field. The method is widely employed industrially for heating thermosetting glues, for drying lumber and other fibrous materials, for preheating plastics before molding, and for fast jelling and drying of foam rubber.
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