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Related Concept Videos

Phase Transitions01:21

Phase Transitions

43
A phase transition is the process in which a substance changes from one state of matter to another, like from a solid to a liquid, liquid to gas, or vice versa, at a specific temperature and under given pressure conditions. This change is spontaneous and is affected by alterations in temperature and pressure. These parameters impact the strength of the forces between molecules (intermolecular forces) in the substance.During a phase transition, both the initial and final phases of the substance...
43
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

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Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
15.6K
Phase Transitions02:31

Phase Transitions

23.6K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
23.6K
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition02:33

Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition

20.8K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
20.8K
Phase Changes01:19

Phase Changes

5.6K
Phase transitions play an important theoretical and practical role in the study of heat flow. In melting or fusion, a solid turns into a liquid; the opposite process is freezing. In evaporation, a liquid turns into a gas; the opposite process is condensation.
A substance melts or freezes at a temperature called its melting point and boils or condenses at its boiling point. These temperatures depend on pressure. High pressure favors the denser form of the substance, so typically, high pressure...
5.6K
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation02:39

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

22.0K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
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Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses

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Temperature-driven structural phase transition for trapped ions and a proposal for its experimental detection.

Zhe-Xuan Gong1, G-D Lin, L-M Duan

  • 1Department of Physics and MCTP, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|January 15, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Quantum and thermal fluctuations in trapped ions can drive structural phase transitions solely by temperature changes. This study proposes an experimental method to observe this phenomenon, going beyond classical mechanical conditions.

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Area of Science:

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Quantum Simulation
  • Ion Traps

Background:

  • Wigner crystals in trapped ions classically exhibit structural phase transitions determined by mechanical conditions.
  • Quantum and thermal fluctuations are typically considered secondary effects in such systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of quantum and thermal fluctuations in driving structural phase transitions in trapped ion Wigner crystals.
  • To determine if temperature alone can induce a phase transition, independent of mechanical factors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing the renormalization group method to analyze system behavior.
  • Employing the path integral formalism to incorporate quantum and thermal effects.
  • Developing a finite-temperature phase diagram for trapped ions.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that quantum and thermal fluctuations can drive structural phase transitions solely through temperature variations.
  • Determined a finite-temperature phase diagram for trapped ion Wigner crystals.
  • Identified an experimental scheme to observe the predicted temperature-driven transition.

Conclusions:

  • Structural phase transitions in trapped ion Wigner crystals are not solely governed by classical mechanical conditions.
  • Temperature, influenced by quantum and thermal fluctuations, can be a primary driver for structural phase transitions.
  • The proposed experimental scheme is feasible with current ion trap technology, enabling empirical verification.