monosymmetric form which melts at 120°, but if heated rapidly
the rhombic form melts at 114.5. The two forms, rhombic and
monosymmetric, can exist in equilibrium at 95.6°, the transition
point at which they have the same vapour pressure. Similarly
a solid solution of carbon in iron, when cooled slowly, passes
at about 700° C., with considerable evolution of heat, into the
form of “pearlite,” which is soft when cold, but if rapidly chilled
the carbon remains in solution and the steel is very hard (see
also Alloys).
In the case of crystalline fusion it is necessary to distinguish two cases, the homogeneous and the heterogeneous. In the first case the composition of the solid and liquid phases are the same, and the temperature remains constant during the whole process of fusion. In the second case the solid and liquid phases differ in composition; that of the liquid phase changes continuously, and the temperature does not remain constant during the fusion. The first case comprises the fusion of pure substances, and that of eutectics, or cryohydrates; the second is the general case of an alloy or a solution. These have been very fully studied and their phenomena greatly elucidated in recent years.
There is also a sub-variety of amorphous fusion, which may be styled colloid or gelatinous, and may be illustrated by the behaviour of solutions of water in gelatin. Many of these jellies melt at a fairly definite temperature on heating, and coagulate or set at a definite temperature on cooling. But in some cases the process is not reversible, and there is generally marked hysteresis, the temperature of setting and other phenomena depending on the rate of cooling. This case has not yet been fully worked out; but it appears probable that in many cases the jelly possesses a spongy framework of solid, holding liquid in its meshes or interstices. It might be regarded as a case of “heterogeneous” amorphous fusion, in which the liquid separates into two phases of different composition, one of which solidifies before the other. The two phases cannot, as a rule, be distinguished optically, but it is generally possible to squeeze out some of the liquid phase when the jelly has set, which proves that the substance is not really homogeneous. In very complicated mixtures, such as acid lavas or slags containing a large proportion of silica, amorphous and crystalline solidification may occur together. In this case the crystals separate first during the process of cooling, the mother liquor increases gradually in viscosity, and finally sets as an amorphous ground-mass or matrix, in which crystals of different kinds and sizes, formed at different stages of the cooling, remain embedded. The formation of crystals in an amorphous solid after it has set is also of frequent occurrence. It is termed devitrification, but is a very slow process unless the solid is in a plastic state.
2. Homogeneous Crystalline Fusion.—The fusion of a solid of this type is characterized most clearly by the perfect constancy of temperature during the process. In fact, the law of constant temperature, which is generally stated as the first of the so-called “laws of fusion,” does not strictly apply except to this case. The constancy of the F.P. of a pure substance is so characteristic that change of the F.P. is often one of the most convenient tests of the presence of foreign material. In the case of substances like ice, which melt at a low temperature and are easily obtained in large quantities in a state of purity, the point of fusion may be very accurately determined by observing the temperature of an intimate mixture of the solid and liquid while slowly melting as it absorbs heat from surrounding bodies. But in the majority of cases it is more convenient to observe the freezing point as the liquid is cooled. By this method it is possible to ensure perfect uniformity of temperature throughout the mass by stirring the liquid continuously during the process of freezing, whereas it is difficult to ensure uniformity of temperature in melting a solid, however gradually the heat is supplied, unless the solid can be mixed with the liquid. It is also possible to observe the F.P. in other ways, as by noting the temperature at the moment of the breaking of a wire, of the stoppage of a stirrer, or of the maximum rate of change of volume, but these methods are generally less certain in their indications than the point of greatest constancy of temperature in the case of homogeneous crystalline solids.
| Mercury | −38.8° | Antimony | 630° |
| Potassium | 62.5° | Aluminium | 655° |
| Sodium | 95.6° | Silver | 962° |
| Tin | 231.9° | Gold | 1064° |
| Bismuth | 269.2° | Copper | 1082° |
| Cadmium | 320.7° | Nickel | 1427° |
| Lead | 327.7° | Palladium | 1535° |
| Zinc | 419.0° | Platinum | 1710° |
The above table contains some of the most recent values of fusing points of metals determined (except the first three and the last three) with platinum thermometers. The last three values are those obtained by extrapolation with platinum-rhodium and platinum-iridium couples. (See Harker, Proc. Roy. Soc. A 76, p. 235, 1905.) Some doubt has recently been raised with regard to the value for platinum, which is much lower than that previously accepted, namely 1775°.
3. Superfusion, Supersaturation.—It is generally possible to cool a liquid several degrees below its normal freezing point without a separation of crystals, especially if it is protected from agitation, which would assist the molecules to rearrange themselves. A liquid in this state is said to be “undercooled” or “superfused.” The phenomenon is even more familiar in the case of solutions (e.g. sodium sulphate or acetate) which may remain in the “metastable” condition for an indefinite time if protected from dust, &c. The introduction into the liquid under this condition of the smallest fragment of the crystal, with respect to which the solution is supersaturated, will produce immediate crystallization, which will continue until the temperature is raised to the saturation point by the liberation of the latent heat of fusion. The constancy of temperature at the normal freezing point is due to the equilibrium of exchange existing between the liquid and solid. Unless both solid and liquid are present, there is no condition of equilibrium, and the temperature is indeterminate.
It has been shown by H. A. Miers (Jour. Chem. Soc., 1906, 89, p. 413) that for a supersaturated solution in metastable equilibrium there is an inferior limit of temperature, at which it passes into the “labile” state, i.e. spontaneous crystallization occurs throughout the mass in a fine shower. This seems to be analogous to the fine misty condensation which occurs in a supersaturated vapour in the absence of nuclei (see Vaporization) when the supersaturation exceeds a certain limit.
4. Effect of Pressure on the F.P.—The effect of pressure on the fusing-point depends on the change of volume during fusion. Substances which expand on freezing, like ice, have their freezing points lowered by increase of pressure; substances which expand on fusing, like wax, have their melting points raised by pressure. In each case the effect of pressure is to retard increase of volume. This effect was first predicted by James Thomson on the analogy of the effect of pressure on the boiling point, and was numerically verified by Lord Kelvin in the case of ice, and later by Bunsen in the case of paraffin and spermaceti. The equation by which the change of the F.P. is calculated may be proved by a simple application of the Carnot cycle, exactly as in the case of vapour and liquid. (See Thermodynamics.) If L be the latent heat of fusion in mechanical units, v′ the volume of unit mass of the solid, and v″ that of the liquid, the work done in an elementary Carnot cycle of range dθ will be dp(v″ − v′), if dp is the increase of pressure required to produce a change dθ in the F.P. Since the ratio of the work-difference or cycle-area to the heat-transferred L must be equal to dθ/θ, we have the relation
| dθ/dp = θ (v″ − v′)/L. | (1) |
The sign of dθ, the change of the F.P., is the same as that of the change of volume (v″ − v′). Since the change of volume seldom exceeds 0.1 c.c. per gramme, the change of the F.P. per atmosphere is so small that it is not as a rule necessary to take account of variations of atmospheric pressure in observing a freezing point. A variation of 1 cm. in the height of the barometer would correspond to a change of .0001° C. only in the F.P. of ice. This is far beyond the limits of accuracy of most observations. Although the effect of pressure is so small, it produces, as is well known, remarkable results in the motion of glaciers, the moulding and regelation of ice, and many other phenomena. It has also been employed to explain the apparent inversion of the order of crystallization in rocks like granite, in which the arrangement of the crystals indicates that the quartz matrix solidified subsequently to the crystals of
