regelation

American  

[ree-juh-ley-shuhn] / ˌri dʒəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

Physics.

1. a phenomenon in which the freezing point of water is lowered by the application of pressure; the melting and refreezing of ice, at constant temperature, caused by varying the pressure.

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regelation British  

/ ˌriːdʒɪˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the rejoining together of two pieces of ice as a result of melting under pressure at the interface between them and subsequent refreezing

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Etymology

Origin of regelation

First recorded in 1855–60; re- + gelation ¹

Example Sentences

But a little further down the wound is healed again, and regelation has restored the smooth surface of the glacier.

From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by Joly, John

Prof., theory of plasticity, 340. — — — — regelation, 352.Twinkling of stars, 72, 238.Tyrol, the, 23.

From The Glaciers of the Alps Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, etc. by Tyndall, John

We know that at 32° Fahrenheit, regelation renders the mass continuous, and that it becomes brittle only at a temperature below this.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 74, December, 1863 by Various

The conclusion was afterwards experimentally verified by Sir William Thomson, and served to explain all the phenomena of regelation.

From Heroes of Science: Physicists by Garnett, William

These facts are the exact complements of those of "regelation;" for here, two moist surfaces of ice being brought into close contact, their liquid liberty is destroyed and the surfaces freeze together.

From The Glaciers of the Alps Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, etc. by Tyndall, John