liquefaction

liq·ue·fac·tion

L0194200 (lĭk′wə-făk′shən)n.1. The process of liquefying.2. The state of being liquefied.

[Middle English liquefaccion, from Old French liquefacion, from Late Latin liquefactiō, liquefactiōn-, from Latin liquefactus, past participle of liquefacere, to make liquid; see liquefy.]

liq•ue•fac•tion

(ˌlɪk wəˈfæk ʃən)

n. 1. the act or process of liquefying. 2. the state of being liquefied. [1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin liquefactiō < Latin liquefac(ere) to melt, liquefy] liq`ue•fac′tive, adj.

liq·ue·fac·tion

(lĭk′wə-făk′shən)1. Chemistry The act or process of turning a gas into a liquid.2. Geology The process by which sediment that is very wet starts to behave like a liquid. Liquefaction is often caused by severe shaking, as in earthquakes.

Thesaurus

Noun

liquefaction - the conversion of a solid or a gas into a liquiddissolving, dissolution - the process of going into solution; "the dissolving of salt in water"phase change, phase transition, physical change, state change - a change from one state (solid or liquid or gas) to another without a change in chemical composition

Translations

licuefacciónliquefazione

liquefaction

liquefaction,

change of a substance from the solid or the gaseous state to the liquid state. Since the different states of matter correspond to different amounts of energyenergy,
in physics, the ability or capacity to do work or to produce change. Forms of energy include heat, light, sound, electricity, and chemical energy. Energy and work are measured in the same units—foot-pounds, joules, ergs, or some other, depending on the system of
..... Click the link for more information. of the molecules making up the substance, energy in the form of heatheat,
nonmechanical energy in transit, associated with differences in temperature between a system and its surroundings or between parts of the same system. Measures of Heat
..... Click the link for more information. must either be supplied to a substance or be removed from the substance in order to change its state. Thus, changing a solid to a liquid or a liquid to a gas requires the addition of heat, while changing a gas to a liquid or a liquid to a solid requires the removal of heat. In the liquefaction of gases, extreme cooling is not necessary, for if a gas is held in a confined space and is subjected to high pressure, heat is given off as it undergoes compressioncompression,
external stress applied to an object or substance, tending to cause a decrease in volume (see pressure). Gases can be compressed easily, solids and liquids to a very small degree if at all.
..... Click the link for more information. and it turns eventually to a liquid. Some cooling is, however, necessary; it was discovered by Thomas Andrews in 1869 that each gas has a definite temperaturetemperature,
measure of the relative warmth or coolness of an object. Temperature is measured by means of a thermometer or other instrument having a scale calibrated in units called degrees. The size of a degree depends on the particular temperature scale being used.
..... Click the link for more information. , called its critical temperature, above which it cannot be liquefied, no matter what pressure is exerted upon it. A gas must, therefore, be cooled below its critical temperature before it can be liquefied. When a gas is compressed its molecules are forced closer together and, their vibratory motion being reduced, heat is given off. As compression proceeds, the speed of the molecules and the distances between them continue to decrease, until eventually the substance undergoes change of state and becomes liquid. Although before the 19th cent. a number of scientists had experimented in liquefying gases, Davy and Faraday are usually credited with being the first to achieve success. The production of liquefied gases in large quantities (and consequently their use in refrigeration) was made possible by the work of Z. F. Wroblewski and K. S. Olszewski, two Polish scientists. The work of Sir James Dewar is also important, especially in the liquefaction of air and its change to a solid. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes first liquefied helium. The critical temperature of helium is −267.9&degC;, only a few degrees above absolute zero (−273.15&degC;). The processes for the liquefaction of gases as developed by Linde and others form the basis for those used in modern refrigerationrefrigeration,
process for drawing heat from substances to lower their temperature, often for purposes of preservation. Refrigeration in its modern, portable form also depends on insulating materials that are thin yet effective.
..... Click the link for more information. . Liquefied gases are much used in low-temperature research; some, e.g., liquid oxygen, find use as rocket propellants. See liquid airliquid air,
ordinary air that has been liquefied by compression and cooling to extremely low temperatures (see liquefaction). Its commercial preparation involves purification by washing to remove soluble impurities and by passage over calcium oxide (lime) to remove the carbon
..... Click the link for more information. ; low-temperature physicslow-temperature physics,
science concerned with the production and maintenance of temperatures much below normal, down to almost absolute zero, and with various phenomena that occur only at such temperatures.
..... Click the link for more information. .

liquefaction

[‚lik·wə′fak·shən] (physics) A change in the phase of a substance to the liquid state; usually, a change from the gaseous to the liquid state, especially of a substance which is a gas at normal pressure and temperature.

liquefaction

1. The sudden, large decrease of shearing resistance of a cohesionless soil caused by a collapse of the soil structure, produced by shock or small shear strains, associated with a sudden but temporary increase of pore water pressures. 2. The process of transforming a soil from a solid state to a liquid state, usually as a result of increased pore pressure and reduced shearing resistance. For example, an action in which a soil deposit (e.g., loose sand) loses its shear resistance temporarily and takes on the character of a liquid; such action, for example, may occur during an earthquake.

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Words related to liquefaction

noun the conversion of a solid or a gas into a liquid

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