Supercooling

Supercooled water, still in liquid state
Start of solidification as a result of leaving the state of rest

Supercooling,[1] also known as undercooling,[2][3] is the process of lowering the temperature of a liquid below its freezing point without it becoming a solid. As per the established international definition, supercooling means ‘cooling a substance below the normal freezing point without solidification’ [4][5] While it can be achieved by different physical means, the postponed solidification is most often due to the absence of seed crystals or nuclei around which a crystal structure can form. The supercooling of water can be achieved without any special techniques other than chemical demineralization, down to −48.3 °C (−54.9 °F). Supercooled water can occur naturally, for example in the atmosphere, animals or plants.

  1. ^ Gomes, Gabriel O.; H. Stanley, Eugene; Souza, Mariano de (2019-08-19). "Enhanced Grüneisen Parameter in Supercooled Water". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 12006. arXiv:1808.00536. Bibcode:2019NatSR...912006O. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-48353-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6700159. PMID 31427698.
  2. ^ Rathz, Tom. "Undercooling". NASA. Archived from the original on 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  3. ^ Science Mission Directorate (April 23, 2001). "Look Ma — No Hands!: What is "Undercooling"?". NASA Science. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  4. ^ IIR International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.php Archived 2019-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ ASHRAE Terminology, https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/free-resources/ashrae-terminology