No, you can only overheat active modules.

And I think Thermodynamics / Overheating may be a bit complex for Dust at launch. Overheating works in EVE because of M / KB / not being shot in face pacing. Here it will just be another thing we need to pay attention to that will end up getting us squashed by a Dropship.

Plus the penalty in EVE for overheating is that the module gets burned out until you replace it. In Dust that's not a problem since you can die and everything is refreshed. This renders heat damage as a useless balance check on modules.

Hmmm ... instead ... maybe a thermodynamics skill allows you to fire weapons that overheat longer per skill level.

I'm all for a skill that does that, but don't call it Thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is a well known skill in EVE for overheating modules, and if CCP ever wanted to bring overheating to Dust they would be hamstrung because the overheating skill (Thermodynamics) already exists and does something else.

Just call it Controlled Bursts, that skill is in EVE but probably won't get ported over and is very similar in concept (in EVE it reduces capacitor usage when firing).

Why not just call it "Weapon Thermodynamics" and "Turret Thermodynamics". The thermodynamics skill in EVE is related to overheating of your modules and how much damage your modules take from overheating.

In the case of Dust514 all we're saying is that the thermodynamics skill allows you to fire your HMG or Blaster turret a little longer (before it needs to cool down) per level than if you did not have the skill.

I think the name Thermodynamics applies nicely in this case.

In EVE, Thermodynamics allows you to temporarily buff your modules by X% at the cost that they take heat damage.

Yes, both deal with heat - but in EVE the skill is about buffing your mods. In Dust it would be about firing a HMG or Turret a few seconds longer. They are a bit different. Truthfully, we're arguing over semantics here. The skill is well known in EVE for buffing modules so EVE players who come here will expect similar behavior.

It would be like Blizzard making a new MMO and having an ability called "Bloodlust" except instead of buffing all your stats and making you do more damage (like World of Warcraft players would expect) it just allows you to fight a few seconds longer by increasing your mana regen or some such. Would people get over it, yes, but it would confuse people who already have pre-existing expectations of a what skill named "Bloodlust" should do. Good software design limits or removes these confusions.

I dunno, I'm probably being a stickler for terms. But Controlled Bursts, Heat Dissipation, Weapon Cooling, Thermoregulation, or some other awesome heat related word could equally serve as the skills name without confusing EVE players as to its purpose.