eutectic

[ yoo-tek-tik ]

adjective

1. of greatest fusibility: said of an alloy or mixture whose melting point is lower than that of any other alloy or mixture of the same ingredients.
2. noting or pertaining to such a mixture or its properties:

   a eutectic melting point.

noun

1. a eutectic substance.

eutectic

/ juːˈtɛktɪk /

adjective

1. (of a mixture of substances, esp an alloy) having the lowest freezing point of all possible mixtures of the substances
2. concerned with or suitable for the formation of eutectic mixtures

noun

1. a eutectic mixture
2. the temperature on a phase diagram at which a eutectic mixture forms

eutectic

/ yo̅o̅-tĕk′tĭk /

1. The proportion of constituents in an alloy or other mixture that yields the lowest possible complete melting point. In all other proportions, the mixture will not have a uniform melting point; some of the mixture will remain solid and some liquid. At the eutectic, the solidus and liquidus temperatures are the same.
2. An alloy or other mixture with constituents in the proportions of the eutectic.
3. The melting point of the eutectic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of eutectic¹

1880–85; < Greek eútēkt ( os ) easily melted, dissolved ( eu- eu- + tēktós melted) + -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of eutectic¹

C19: from Greek eutēktos melting readily, from eu- + tēkein to melt

Example Sentences

Eutectic salt alloys closely resemble cryohydrates in behavior.

From Project Gutenberg

On remelting, the temperature of solidification is found to be quite fixed, and the mixture is evidently eutectic.

From Project Gutenberg

Or, in other cases, we may predict from the curve of melting-points that no eutectic alloy is possible.

From Project Gutenberg

This, therefore, is the composition of the eutectic alloy, and it finds its place naturally on the curve given in Fig. 2.

From Project Gutenberg

This is the only case in which a eutectic mixture is possible, and it is, of course, found at the lowest point of the curve.

From Project Gutenberg