dissipates

Dissipates is the third-person singular present tense of the verb dissipate; the word can mean to scatter or spread widely, to squander or waste, or to cause something to disappear or be lost.

In physics and engineering, dissipation describes the conversion of organized energy into disorganized energy, typically as heat, due to non-conservative forces such as friction, viscosity, or electrical resistance. In mechanical systems, damping forces dissipate kinetic energy, reducing the amplitudes of oscillations; in electrical circuits, resistors dissipate electrical energy as heat.

In environmental science, dissipation refers to the reduction of a pollutant’s concentration in a medium through processes such as dilution, dispersion, degradation, adsorption, or deposition, leading to lower exposure levels.

In everyday use, the term may describe the disappearance or fading of a phenomenon. For example, fog dissipates as it warms, a crowd dissipates after an event, or tensions dissipate following negotiations.

Etymology-wise, dissipate comes from Latin dissipatus, from dissipare, meaning to scatter. The English verb appears in the 16th century. Dissipates is commonly seen in scientific writing, where it distinguishes the act of energy or substance loss from the broader sense of scattering or wasting.

See also: dissipation, dissipative systems, damping, diffusion.