critical point
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A critical point is a specific combination of temperature and pressure at which the distinction between different states of matter (like liquid and gas) disappears. This matters because it helps scientists and engineers understand how substances behave under extreme conditions and design systems like refrigeration or industrial processes.
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Subcritical ethane, liquid and gas phase coexist. Critical point (32.17 °C, 48.72 bar), displaying critical opalescence. Supercritical ethane, fluid.
In thermodynamics, a critical point (or critical state) is the end point of a phase equilibrium curve. One example is the liquid–vapor critical point, the end point of the pressure–temperature curve that designates conditions under which a liquid and its vapor can coexist. At higher temperatures, the gas comes into a supercritical phase, and so cannot be liquefied by pressure alone. At the critical point, defined by a critical temperature Tc and a critical pressure pc, phase boundaries vanish. Other examples include the liquid–liquid critical points in mixtures, and the ferromagnet–paramagnet transition (Curie temperature) in the absence of an external magnetic field.