Cooling tower

A structure that removes heat from circulating water, usually by transferring some of it to the air through evaporation. It is used in power plants, factories, and large buildings.

Evaporative cooling: Cooling caused when liquid evaporates, carrying away energy as latent heat. Water evaporation transfers heat from the circulating water into the air.
Heat exchanger: A device that transfers thermal energy between fluids at different temperatures. A cooling tower is a specialized heat-rejection system in a larger thermal cycle.
Natural-draft cooling tower: A tall cooling tower that drives airflow through buoyancy created by temperature and density differences. Large power stations use its chimney-like form to move air without a fan.
Cooling tower plume: The visible cloud of water droplets or condensed vapor emerging from a cooling tower. Plumes arise when warm, moist exhaust air mixes with cooler ambient air.
Wet-bulb temperature: The lowest temperature attainable by evaporative cooling of air at a given pressure and humidity. It sets a practical lower limit for cooling tower water temperature.
Latent heat of vaporization: The energy required to convert a liquid into vapor without changing its temperature. Evaporation removes substantial heat from tower water without requiring an equal temperature rise.
Mechanical-draft cooling tower: A cooling tower that uses fans to move air through its heat-transfer section. Fans provide controllable airflow in industrial and building-scale installations.
Legionnaires' disease: A severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling aerosolized Legionella bacteria. Poorly maintained towers can support Legionella growth and disperse contaminated droplets.
Cooling tower fill: The internal material that spreads water into thin films or droplets to increase air–water contact. Fill enlarges the exchange area and extends contact time between water and air.
Psychrometrics: The study of the thermodynamic properties of moist air and their relationships. Moist-air conditions govern evaporation, tower capacity, and outlet-air state.

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