Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Phase Transitions

Phase Transitions

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...

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 Changes

Phase Changes

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...

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...

Heating and Cooling Curves

Heating and Cooling Curves

When a substance—isolated from its environment—is subjected to heat changes, corresponding changes in temperature and phase of the substance is observed; this is graphically represented by heating and cooling curves.
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Impacts of particle morphology and rotation on optical manipulation.

Light, science & applications·2026

Same author

Sensitive infrared photodetection enabled by in-sensor background-offset cancellation in a mixed-dimensional van der Waals heterostructure.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Chiral Quasi-Bound States in the Continuum on the Verge of the Light Cone.

Nano letters·2026

Same author

Single-crystal, 4-inch and ultrathin gallium oxide for sundial-inspired high-dimensional solar-blind photodetection metasystem.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Chitinase 38 confers cadmium tolerance via reduced cadmium uptake and metabolic reprogramming in barley.

Plant physiology·2026

Same author

Metaceramic enables ultrahigh-temperature record rectification and programmable 3D thermal control.

Science advances·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Thermal Scanning Conductometry TSC as a General Method for Studying and Controlling the Phase Behavior of Conductive Physical Gels

Thermal Scanning Conductometry TSC as a General Method for Studying and Controlling the Phase Behavior of Conductive Physical Gels

Published on: January 23, 2018

Configurable Phase Transitions in a Topological Thermal Material.

Guoqiang Xu¹, Ying Li^2,3, Wei Li⁴

¹Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge 117583, Republic of Singapore.

Physical Review Letters

|September 17, 2021

Summary

Researchers explored topological transitions in thermal materials by creating an orthogonal advection space. This work reveals novel thermal phases and offers a method for achieving topologically robust thermal systems.

More Related Videos

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Published on: September 4, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Thermal Scanning Conductometry TSC as a General Method for Studying and Controlling the Phase Behavior of Conductive Physical Gels

Thermal Scanning Conductometry TSC as a General Method for Studying and Controlling the Phase Behavior of Conductive Physical Gels

Published on: January 23, 2018

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers

Published on: September 4, 2015

Area of Science:

Condensed Matter Physics
Thermal Transport Phenomena
Topological Materials

Background:

Diffusive thermal transport limits topological characteristics due to insufficient parametric complexity.
Understanding topological transitions in thermal systems is crucial for advanced material design.

Purpose of the Study:

To overcome limitations of diffusive thermal transport by introducing an orthogonal advection space.
To explore and reveal previously unrecognized topological transitions in thermal materials.
To demonstrate configurable thermal phases with unique topological properties.

Main Methods:

Creation of an orthogonal advection space utilizing two advective pairs.
Investigation of topological transitions within the engineered advection space.
Characterization of resultant thermal phases and their symmetries.

Main Results:

Demonstration of four distinct configurable thermal phases.
Identification of a nontrivial dynamic-equilibrium distribution.
Observation of a nonchiral steplike π-phase transition.
Characterization of two trivial profiles linked to anti-parity-time symmetry.

Conclusions:

The engineered advection space enables the exploration of unexplored topological transitions in thermal materials.
The study provides a framework for realizing topologically robust thermal systems resistant to perturbations.
Findings offer a new perspective on controlling thermal transport through topological phase engineering.