Spheroidal state

(Physics.)

the state of a liquid, as water, when, on being thrown on a surface of highly heated metal, it rolls about in spheroidal drops or masses, at a temperature several degrees below ebullition, and without actual contact with the heated surface, - a phenomenon due to the repulsive force of heat, the intervention of a cushion of nonconducting vapor, and the cooling effect of evaporation.

See also: Spheroidal

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by G. & C. Merriam Co.