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Phase Diagram

Phase Diagram

The phase of a given substance depends on the pressure and temperature. Thus, plots of pressure versus temperature showing the phase in each region provide considerable insights into the thermal properties of substances. Such plots are known as phase diagrams. For instance, in the phase diagram for water (Figure 1), the solid curve boundaries between the phases indicate phase transitions (i.e., temperatures and pressures at which the phases coexist).

Phase Diagrams

Phase Diagrams

A phase diagram combines plots of pressure versus temperature for the liquid-gas, solid-liquid, and solid-gas phase-transition equilibria of a substance. These diagrams indicate the physical states that exist under specific conditions of pressure and temperature and also provide the pressure dependence of the phase-transition temperatures (melting points, sublimation points, boiling points). Regions or areas labeled solid, liquid, and gas represent single phases, while lines or curves represent...

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

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...

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

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: Dec 14, 2025

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Published on: September 4, 2015

Decoding a Percolation Phase Transition of Water at ∼330 K with a Nanoparticle Ruler.

Carlos D S Brites¹, Bilin Zhuang^2,3, Mengistie L Debasu^1,4

¹Phantom-g, CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Physics, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

|July 17, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers discovered a distinct water transition at 330 K using upconversion nanoparticles. This finding reveals a geometrical phase transition involving low-density liquid (LDL) clusters and offers new insights into water

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Area of Science:

Physical Chemistry
Materials Science
Nanotechnology

Background:

Liquid water exhibits complex anomalous properties and phase transitions that are challenging to study experimentally.
Understanding water's behavior is crucial across various scientific disciplines.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the subtle phase transitions and anomalous properties of liquid water.
To identify and characterize a sharp transition point in water at 330 K.
To explore the role of nanoparticles in probing liquid water's nanometer-scale structure.

Main Methods:

Experimental measurement of the instantaneous Brownian velocity of NaYF4:Yb/Er upconversion nanoparticles in water.
Molecular dynamics simulations to corroborate experimental findings.
Introduction of a novel order parameter to classify water molecule geometric states.

Main Results:

A sharp transition in water was observed at 330 K, evidenced by nanoparticle Brownian motion.
A geometrical phase transition was elucidated, involving the percolation of low-density liquid (LDL) clusters below 330 K.
Upconversion nanoparticles were shown to act as effective nanoscale rulers for measuring LDL cluster sizes and hydrogen-bond network extensiveness.

Conclusions:

The study reveals a critical temperature of 330 K associated with a geometrical phase transition in liquid water.
Upconversion nanoparticles serve as valuable tools for probing nanometer-scale structural changes and hydrogen-bond networks in liquids.
A new order parameter provides a robust method for analyzing water's local geometric states, aiding in the understanding of its anomalies.