Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Bedarfsabtauung
English translation:
defrosting as necessary / on demand
German term
Germany
Scientific & technical expertise
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: German to English
Bedarfsabtauung
Bedarfsabtaung as a menu item on the operator menu of a cryostat
I'm thinking along the lines of "Defrost function" or "Thaw function".
Jul 22, 2009 13:52: Wolfgang Pfann changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/62748">David Williams's</a> old entry - "Bedarfsabtaung"" to ""Defrosting as necessary / on demand""
Jul 23, 2009 18:54: Steffen Walter changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/1086790">Wolfgang Pfann's</a> old entry - "Bedarfsabtauung"" to ""Defrosting as necessary / on demand""
Jul 23, 2009 18:54: Steffen Walter changed "Term asked" from "Bedarfsabtaung" to "Bedarfsabtauung"
Proposed translations
Germany
Specialized Translations
Native in: German 
Works in: English to German, French to German, German to English, and 3 more.
Defrosting as necessary / on demand
Since it appears on an operating menu of a cryostat, it is in fact a thawing or defrosting function.
The question I am asking myself now is whether it is an "Automatic Defrost Function" or a "Defrost on Demand". The German word can actually mean either one. Maybe the context can help you clear that up.
Good luck!
| Exactly, that's how I understood it too, with the same problem of ambiguity. |
Germany
Dr. rer. nat. Annett Behn-Krappa 
Expert knowledge at your service!
Native in: German
Works in: English to German
defrosting as required
Automatic defrost
Manual defrost as required
http://websites.labx.com/rankin/detail.cfm?p=0&autonumber=57...
... automatic defrost, manual defrost as required, space-saving ergonomically designed ....
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~nhilliar/Work_CSS/Data Files/Prot...
... If immediate defrost is required, simply advance ....
indicated degree of thawing/defrost
Native in: English , Spanish
Works in: Spanish to English, French to Spanish, German to English, and 3 more.
Thawing / Defrosting Requirement
Reference comments
United Kingdom
Patents and related material specialist
Native in: English (Variants: Scottish, UK, British)
Works in: German to English, French to English, Swedish to English, and 4 more.
automatische Abtauung / Bedarfsabtauung
6.5.1 Automatische Abtauung der Kühlkammer
Pro Tag findet eine automatische Abtauung der Kryokammer statt. Der Zeitpunkt der automatischen Abtauung kann am Bedienfeld programmiert werden.
6.5.2 Bedarfsabtauung der Kühlkammer
Der Rücksprung in den Kühlstatus erfolgt automatisch.
Zusätzlich zur programmierten Automatik-Abtauung kann bei Bedarf auch manuell eine Abtauung für die Kryokammer aktiviert werden (siehe
Punkt 5.2, Abb. 13).
(page 30)
http://www.leica-microsystems.com/pdfs.nsf/(ALLIDs)/6790F1F4...$FILE/Leica_CM1510-S_1v3_DE.pdf
| That is very helpful, thanks! |
Discussion
You're right Colin, I should have added a [sic].