We explain what solidification is, the types that exist, the characteristics of each one and examples. Also, what is fusion.
What is solidification?
Solidification is the process of physical change or phase change by which matter goes from a liquid state to a solid state by varying the pressure to which it is subjected.
In the latter it is distinguished from freezing, which supposes the same result on liquid matter, but from the drop in its temperature below its freezing point. This difference is rather technical and in non-academic or scientific fields both terms are often used interchangeably.
Solidification or freezing is the process (as opposed to melting or melting) that causes solid matter to become liquid based on the change in its physical conditions of pressure and/or temperature. are reversible processes in the sense that the matter is not chemically transformed that is, no chemical (constitutive) changes occur but rather physical (form) changes.
We can talk about different types of solidification, depending on the changes that occur in the matter, for example:
- Crystallization. It consists of the formation of solid structures within a uniform liquid, as the particles come together. It is possible to observe these structures, as in water when it begins to freeze, because solid and liquid coexist for a few moments.
- Vitrification. Certain materials can solidify without crystallizing, such as glass or glycerol, so that there is no abrupt transition between one physical phase and the other, but rather a gradual loss of elasticity, leading towards the solid state.
- Supercooling. It is the process by which a liquid is cooled to temperatures below its freezing point without changing phase, without solidifying. For this to happen the liquid must be sufficiently pure.
See also: States of matter
Solidification and fusion
Fusion is the opposite process of solidification and freezing. It consists of adding energy to a solid material to increase the movement of its particles, losing their chemical bonds and fixed structure. It is the transition from solid to liquid state.
Each solid has a melting point from which it changes phase and becomes a liquid state: the opposite of the freezing point at which liquids become solid. The higher the melting point, the more energy (i.e., higher temperature) the solid will require to melt, that is, to become a liquid or semi-liquid.
Examples of solidification
Some examples of solidification are:
- Water freezing inside our refrigerators is the quintessential example of solidification of a liquid due to heat loss.
- The boiling lava that erupts from the subsoil when there are volcanic eruptions is liquid material subjected to enormous temperatures and pressures. When it rises to the surface, it slowly loses energy and ends up turning into solid material.
- When we make figures with clay, we notice that, when wet, the clay is malleable, but when it dries it becomes solid, hard and brittle.
- Metals in steel industries are heated in gigantic furnaces to melt them (take them from solid to liquid state) and then pour them into molds with specific shapes. Contained there, the liquid metals cool and solidify, and once removed from the mold, they will have the desired shape.
Continue with: Reverse Sublimation
References
- “Solidification” on Wikipedia.
- “What is solidification? State changes and how they occur” (video) in CGFIE IPN.
- “Changes in the states of matter – fusion, vaporization, condensation and solidification” (video) in Smile and Learn Spanish.
- “Fusion and solidification” in Junta de Andalucía.
- “Solidification: Definition and Examples in Chemistry” in ThoughtCo.
- “Solid changes” in IMPRESS, Supporting Education Across Europe.
