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phase transition

American  
[fayz-tran-zish-uhn] / ˈfeɪz trænˌzɪʃ ən /

noun

  • phase transitions
    plural
  1. Physical Chemistry. the change from one phase of a substance to another, such as from solid to liquid.


phase transition Scientific  
  1. A change in a feature of a physical system that results in a discrete transition of that system to another state. For example, the melting of ice is a phase transition of water from a solid phase to a liquid phase. Phase transitions often involve the absorption or emission of energy from the system; ice, at 0 ° Celsius, must absorb a considerable amount of heat energy to become water.

  2. See also state of matter thermodynamics


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"We call reionization the last major phase transition of the universe."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

The discovery does not yet settle the question of what caused the universe's last major phase transition.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

These included metals such as copper, noble gases under extreme pressure such as argon in crystalline state, and the complex solid-solid phase transition of tin.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2026

Stronger interactions between neighboring chains are predicted to trigger a phase transition from semiconductor to metal as chain density increases.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026

In this there is no phase transition or supercooling.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

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