Sublimation | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

sublimation An example of sublimation is the conversion of solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) to carbon dioxide gas.

phase change

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External Websites

• Al-Mustaqbal University - Sublimation
• Chemistry LibreTexts - Sublimation
• University of Toronto Scarborough - Sublimation Theory
• Nature - Nature Communications - Singular sublimation of ice and snow crystals
• USGS - Sublimation and the Water Cycle
• CORE - Sublimation as a Method of Matrix Application for Mass Spectrometric Imaging (PDF)

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Last Updated: Jan 24, 2025• Article History

Related Topics:

heat of sublimation

sublimation curve

phase change

On the Web:

Nature - Nature Communications - Singular sublimation of ice and snow crystals (Jan. 24, 2025)

See all related content

sublimation, in physics, conversion of a substance from the solid to the gaseous state without its becoming liquid. An example is the vaporization of frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) at ordinary atmospheric pressure and temperature. The phenomenon is the result of vapour pressure and temperature relationships. Freeze-drying of food to preserve it involves sublimation of water from the food in a frozen state under high vacuum. See also vaporization; phase diagram.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.