Sublimation (phase transition): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:12, 3 December 2023

Revision as of 12:22, 8 December 2023

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- the definition is simply the transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas state, without passing through the liquid state

- technically, all solids sublime (depending mostly on vapour pressure) --><!-- checking some online English dictionaries:

1. sublime and sublimate are both valid, and both have some other meanings

(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sublime#did-you-know)

(also almost every dictionary)

2. sublimate may mean the product

(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sublimate#dictionary-entry-2)

(https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sublimate)

(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sublimate)

(https://chambers.co.uk/search/?query=sublimate&title=21st)

(https://www.wordreference.com/definition/sublimate)

3. sublimation may also mean itself followed by deposition

(https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sublime)

(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sublime)

yes, this is very confusing -->

[[File:Nickelocen an einem Kühlfinger.jpg|thumb|right|Dark green [[crystals]] of [[nickelocene]], sublimed and freshly deposited on a [[cold finger]]]]

'''Sublimation''' is the [[Phase transition|transition of a substance]] directly from the [[solid]] to the [[gas]] state,<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|Sublimate}}</ref> without passing through the [[liquid]] state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitten |first1=Kenneth W. |last2=Gailey |first2=Kenneth D. |last3=Davis |first3=Raymond E. |title=General chemistry |url=https://archive.org/details/generalchemistry00whit_0 |url-access=registration |date=1992 |publisher=Saunders College Publishing |isbn=0-03-072373-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/generalchemistry00whit_0/page/475 475] |edition=4th}}</ref> The verb form of sublimation is ''sublime'', or less preferably, ''sublimate''<ref name=":0">{{cite Merriam-Webster|Sublimate}}</ref>. The product obtained by sublimation is also called the ''sublimate''<ref name=":0" />. The reverse process of sublimation is [[deposition (phase transition)|''deposition'']] or ''desublimation'', in which a substance passes directly from a gas to a solid phase, without passing through the liquid state.<ref name="DepositionDef">{{cite journal |title=Controlling condensation and frost growth with chemical micropatterns |first1=Jonathan B. |last1=Boreyko |first2=Ryan R. |last2=Hansen |first3=Kevin R. |last3=Murphy |first4=Saurabh |last4=Nath |first5=Scott T. |last5=Retterer |first6=C. Patrick |last6=Collier |journal=Scientific Reports |year=2016 |volume=6 |pages=19131 |doi=10.1038/srep19131 |pmid=26796663 |pmc=4726256 |bibcode=2016NatSR...619131B}}</ref>

All solids sublime, though most sublime at extremely low rates that are hardly detectable. At [[standard conditions for temperature and pressure|normal pressures]], most [[chemical compound]]s and [[chemical element|elements]] possess three different states at different [[temperature]]s. In these cases, the transition from the [[solid]] to the [[gas]] state requires an intermediate liquid state. The pressure referred to is the ''[[partial pressure]]'' of the substance, not the ''total'' (e.g. atmospheric) pressure of the entire system. Thus, any solid can sublime if its [[vapour pressure]] is higher than the surrounding partial pressure of the same substance, and in some cases, sublimes at an appreciable rate (e.g. water ice just below 0&nbsp;°C).