• PotatoesFall
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    29 days ago

    Hey guys. In high school I graduated with fantastic grades in physics. I have a BSc in Chemical Engineering. Can somebody explain supercritical fluids to me please

    • DarkenLM@kbin.earth
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      29 days ago

      A fluid gets too hot and compressed that it forgets it’s supposed to be either a liquid or a gas, so it decides to be both.

      • PotatoesFall
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        28 days ago

        what does that mean though. Are they still compressible?

        • DarkenLM@kbin.earth
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          26 days ago

          A supercritical fluid is a fluid that shows properties of both a gas and a liquid. It happens because the pressure and temperature of that fluid happen to be in the region where the line between liquid and gas becomes blurred, and you can’t tell where one state ends and the other begins.

          As far as I remember, a supercritical fluid can still be compressed to some extent, though being supercritical already puts it somewhat near it’s physical limit.