Three phase coexistence curves meet at the triple point, where ice, liquid water and water vapour have equal chemical potential. In the ordinary-pressure region, the low-temperature phase is ice, the high-pressure moderate-temperature phase is liquid, and the low-pressure high-temperature phase is vapour. The triple point is approximately
Below , warming stable ordinary ice crosses the sublimation boundary directly into vapour; there is no intervening stable liquid. Above , melting and then boiling can occur. The liquid–vapour curve terminates at the liquid-gas critical point, approximately and , beyond which there is no liquid–vapour phase boundary.
The distinctive feature is the negative slope of the ordinary ice–water melting line. The Clapeyron equation gives
Melting increases entropy but reduces volume because ordinary ice is less dense than liquid water, so and . Increasing pressure consequently lowers the melting temperature locally. Sublimation and vaporization both increase volume and entropy, giving positive slopes. The following original schematic shows these signs; it is not a quantitative fit and omits the additional high-pressure ice polymorphs.
Vaporization 2026-10-18
Vaporization changes a liquid into a gas. It includes evaporation at a surface and boiling within the liquid. Below the liquid-gas critical point, equilibrium conversion along the liquid-vapour phase coexistence curve involves latent heat; the liquid and vapour have equal chemical potential there.