phase transition
Americannoun
-
A change in a feature of a physical system that results in a discrete transition of that system to another state. For example, the melting of ice is a phase transition of water from a solid phase to a liquid phase. Phase transitions often involve the absorption or emission of energy from the system; ice, at 0 ° Celsius, must absorb a considerable amount of heat energy to become water.
-
See also state of matter thermodynamics
Other Word Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While CDWs have been studied for many years, researchers have struggled to directly observe how their strength and spatial coherence change during a phase transition.
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
Non-equilibrium phase transition: a change in the state of a system that occurs when it is not in thermal equilibrium, often driven by external forces or energy input.
From Science Daily • Jun. 3, 2024
That, in turn, may help them unravel mysteries of the phase transition between deconfined quarks and gluons and composite particles such as protons and neutrons.
From Science Daily • May 17, 2024
Understanding the electromagnetic properties of the QGP may help physicists unravel the mysteries of the phase transition between QGP and ordinary nuclear matter made of protons and neutrons.
From Science Daily • May 17, 2024
Later work has also cast doubt on whether there could be a phase transition in the very early universe of the kind required.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
