critical temperature

[ krit-i-kuhl tem-per-uh-cher, tem-pruh‐ ]

nounPhysics.
  1. the temperature of a pure element or compound at a critical point: Above the critical temperature, no liquid can form, no matter how great the pressure of the gas is.

Origin of critical temperature

1
First recorded in 1865–70

Words Nearby critical temperature

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British Dictionary definitions for critical temperature

critical temperature

noun
  1. the temperature of a substance in its critical state. A gas can only be liquefied by pressure alone at temperatures below its critical temperature

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for critical temperature

critical temperature

  1. The temperature of a substance at its critical point.

  2. The temperature at which a material becomes a superconductor.

  1. The temperature at which a property of a material, such as its magnetism, changes.

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