What Is the Melting Point?

Melting is the transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid state. This can be seen in an ice-cube, which turns from a crystalline solid structure to liquid water. A ‘melt’ is the liquid phase of a substance.

The melting point depends only slightly on pressure. For example, an increase in pressure by 100 bars causes the melting point of a substance to change by only 1 degree Kelvin. This means, that while changes in atmospheric pressure have a significant effect on the boiling point, the melting point remains practically unchanged. The water-ice mix in the example above has a temperature of 0 °C under normal pressure.

The reverse phase transition from liquid to solid is called "solidification". This is usually achieved by cooling.