Solidification is the process and the result of solidifying (make a liquid solid). Solidification can therefore be defined as a physical type process that implies a status change of a matter .
Said change of state may occur due to matter compression in question or by a low of the temperature . These factors cause the liquid to become solid. When a material dehydrates and hardens, it also speaks of solidification.
It should be noted that the reverse process to solidification is the fusion : In this case, a material that is in a solid state undergoes a process of physical change and becomes liquid.
The term solidification also appears in the concept solidification point (also known as freezing point ). In this case, it is the temperature necessary for a given liquid to become a solid if at the same time it is subjected to a certain pressure. For a liquid that has not been mixed (that is, for one pure), the solidification point is equal to the melting point, and therefore it can be said that it is the temperature at which said substance is in equilibrium.
The most common example of solidification is the freezing of the Water . When a person places liquid water in a bucket (also called cooler) and take it to a freezer (freezer), it does so with the objective of achieving solidification of water. The decrease in temperature that involves being in the freezer causes the liquid water to solidify and turn to ice. These ice cubes are then used to cool drinks.
Bringing the water to its solidification point, which is none other than 0 ºC, causes it to cool until it becomes solid, something that is expected of a matter in a liquid state, but it also does something uncommon compared to the rest of the elements of this group: its volume increases . Most liquids go through a loss of volume to freeze, but every time we put water in the freezer and remove it in the form of ice we can see that at the end of the process it occupies more space than at the beginning.
Many people have experienced the "bursting" of a glass bottle after having left it for a few hours in the freezer full of water, and this has nothing to do with the material but with the newly exposed property of the water.
We can also find a example of solidification when an artisan works with clay . This material, being in contact with water, becomes moldable. In this way it is possible to give it various forms. Once the clay dries, its solidification occurs: that is, it hardens and becomes stiff.
We can find other cases of solidification in certain industrial processes that are carried out with metals . It is common for a metal to be subjected to a high temperature so that it melts and can be molded. Then, when the temperature is lowered, the solidification of the metal develops.
Another example of solidification can be seen in one of nature's most impressive creations: volcanoes , more specifically with magma. It is a complex mixture that combines substances in the three possible states, that is, solid, gaseous and liquid, and its temperature is between 700 and 1200 ° C. Through the solidification of magma, the igneous rocks (or magmatic).
Since magma belongs to the group of molten materials, its volume and density are greater than those of rocks encajantes (those that surround the igneous rock masses). Among its most abundant components are the following: silicon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, magnesium and potassium.
