supercooled
Liquid despite freezing
Supercooled describes a liquid that has been cooled below its normal freezing point without solidifying.
Water, for instance, can remain liquid well below 32°F if undisturbed, then freeze instantly when agitated or given a surface to crystallize on.
The phenomenon appears in meteorology, physics, and food science: supercooled water droplets in clouds, a supercooled solution.
Liquid past freezing temperature
- metastableStable but not permanently
- nucleationInitial cluster formation
- crystallizationForming ordered solid structure
- thermodynamicsScience of heat-energy relationships
amorphous · glassy · supersaturation · enthalpy · equilibrium · subcooling
Below the freezing point
- cryogenicExtremely low temperature
- frigidExtremely and intensely cold
- chilledMade or kept cold
- frozenSolidified by extreme cold
cold · icy · glacial · refrigerated · cryostat
Water dropping from clouds
- cryoprotectantSubstance preventing ice damage
- antifreezeEngine cooling additive
- viscosityFluid's flow resistance
- vitrificationTransformation into glass
cryopreservation · icing · atmospheric · precipitation · fog · mist · condensation
undercooled
Liquid past freezing temperature
- metastableStable but not permanently
- nucleationInitial cluster formation
- crystallizationForming ordered solid structure
thermodynamics · amorphous · glassy · supersaturation · enthalpy · equilibrium · subcooling
subzero
Below the freezing point
rain
Water dropping from clouds
- cryoprotectantSubstance preventing ice damage
- antifreezeEngine cooling additive
- viscosityFluid's flow resistance
vitrification · cryopreservation · icing · atmospheric · precipitation · fog · mist · condensation
- physical statessolid, liquid, gas, plasma, gaseous
- matter statessolid, liquid state, plasma, vapor, gaseous
- cryogenicsliquid nitrogen, cryogenic, cryogenics, cryogenic storage, cryostat
- liquid statesmelted, thawed, molten, liquefied gas, fluid
supercooledsuperheated
Heated beyond phase change
overheated · boiling · scalding · heated · hot
supercooledsuperheated
Heated beyond phase change
frozen · solidified · crystallized · vaporized · boiling
- supercooled waterLiquid chilled below thirty-two