critical pressure

American  

[krit-i-kuhl presh-er] / ˈkrɪt ɪ kəl ˈprɛʃ ər /

noun

Physics.

1. the pressure of a pure element or compound at a critical point.

   At its critical pressure, carbon dioxide converts to a liquid state.

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critical pressure British  

noun

1. the pressure of a gas or the saturated vapour pressure of a substance in its critical state

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critical pressure Scientific  

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

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Etymology

Origin of critical pressure

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Economic sanctions can bring critical pressure on foreign adversaries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

The research team applied this principle to the new pressure release valve: a flexible membrane mimics the opening movement of the plant trap and reacts to critical pressure increases in the speaking valve.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2024

Norfolk County Council executive director of adult social services, James Bullion, says staff sickness, because of Omicron, has put the system under critical pressure for more than three weeks.

From BBC • Jan. 13, 2022

The pressure required to liquefy a gas at its critical temperature is called the critical pressure.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Its boiling-point, measured with a helium thermometer which has been compared with thermometers of oxygen and hydrogen, is -252°; its critical temperature is -241° C.; its critical pressure, 15 atmospheres.

From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien