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incongruent melting
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incongruent melting

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incongruent melting, liquefaction of a solid accompanied by decomposition or by reaction with the melt to produce another solid and a liquid that differs in composition from the original solid. For example, enstatite, a magnesium silicate (MgSiO3), melts incongruently at low pressures to form forsterite, which is another magnesium silicate (Mg2SiO4), and a liquid enriched in silica (SiO2). At pressures between 2.5 and 5.5 kilobars, the melting of enstatite is congruent.