Britannica AI Icon

Quick Summary

The critical temperature is the highest temperature at which a substance can exist as two distinct fluid phases: liquid and vapor. Above this temperature, the substance exists as a single, indistinguishable fluid phase. This point is crucial in understanding phase transitions and is a key component of a substance's critical constants, which also include critical pressure and critical density. The concept is fundamental in the law of corresponding states, which uses reduced variables (actual variable divided by its critical constant) to describe the behavior of different substances similarly near their critical points.12345

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.