= Multiphase interstellar medium
Interstellar gas occupies distinct thermal and <ionization> regimes because heating, cooling and compression depend on <density>, radiation and composition. Cold and warm neutral gas can coexist over a finite <pressure> range, while ionized gas, <molecular clouds> and hot shock-heated regions add further components. <turbulence>, magnetic stress and finite cooling times mean that these are dynamically exchanging phases, not necessarily a common global equilibrium.
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