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Article
Phase transition
Article By:
Sellmyer, D. J. Behlen Laboratory of Physics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Jaswal, Sitaram S. Behlen Laboratory of Physics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Last reviewed:October 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.506100
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- Phase transitions, published January 2014:Download PDF
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Changes of state brought about by a change in an intensive variable (for example, temperature or pressure) of a system. Familiar examples of phase transitions involve water when it undergoes condensation, which is the transition from a gas to a liquid; freezing, when water changes from a liquid to a solid, ice; and melting, when ice turns back into a liquid (Fig. 1). Other phase transition examples include the normal-to-superconducting transition in electrical conductors, the paramagnet-to-ferromagnet transition in magnetic materials, and the superfluid transition in liquid helium. See also: Condensation; Liquid helium; Water
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