critical point (redirected from Critical points)

critical point

In science, the set of conditions under which a liquid and its vapour become identical. The conditions are the critical temperature, the critical pressure, and the critical density. If a closed vessel is filled with a pure substance, partly liquid and partly vapour, and the average density equals the critical density, the critical conditions can be achieved. As the temperature is raised, the vapour pressure increases, and the gas phase becomes denser while the liquid expands and becomes less dense. At the critical point, the densities of liquid and vapour become equal, eliminating the boundary between the two.

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critical point [′krid·ə·kəl ′pȯint]

(mathematics)

A point at which the first derivative of a function is either 0 or does not exist.

(petroleum engineering)

A location on the drilling line which is subject to strain when the pipe is run into or pulled out of the drill hole.

(physical chemistry)

The temperature and pressure at which two phases of a substance in equilibrium with each other become identical, forming one phase.

The temperature and pressure at which two ordinarily partially miscible liquids are consolute.