supercooled water
Liquid below freezing
Supercooled water is liquid water that remains unfrozen below its normal freezing point.
Under calm, pure conditions, water can stay liquid well below 32°F (0°C)—sometimes as cold as -40°F.
The slightest disturbance—a tap, a speck of dust, a seed crystal—triggers instant freezing.
The supercooled water in the bottle froze the moment I shook it.
- latent heatPhase transition thermal energy
- cloud formationIdentifiable sky pattern
- phase transitionMatter shifting between states
- calorimetryMeasuring heat in reactions
- nucleationInitial cluster formation
ice crystals · frost formation · liquid state · aviation safety · snap freeze · vitrification · freezing rain · winter storm · cold snap · weather modification · rime · glaze · cryopreservation · hydrogen bonding · atmospheric science · cloud seeding · freezing point depression · undercooling
supercooled watersuperheated water
Water exceeding 100°C, unpressurized
boiling water · superheated steam · hot water · scalding water · warm water