the.com/phase diagram
a map of matter's mood swings, drawn in temperature and pressure.
means a chart showing which phase, solid, liquid, or gas, a substance settles into at any given temperature and pressure.
from grew out of 19th century thermodynamics, when josiah willard gibbs formalized phase equilibrium and dutch chemist van der waals plotted the curves that made states of matter predictable rather than mysterious.
triple pointone exact spot where solid, liquid, gas coexist
critical pointpast this, liquid and gas become indistinguishable
water anomalyits solid-liquid line slopes backward, unlike almost everything else
named after gibbshis phase rule still governs every diagram drawn
for instance
water phase diagram — famous for ice's unusual negative melting slope at high pressure
carbon phase diagram — maps where graphite turns diamond under extreme pressure
iron phase diagram — explains earth's solid inner core versus molten outer core
co2 phase diagram — shows why dry ice skips liquid and goes straight to gas