Can Pressure Cause Water to Freeze at Room Temperature?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the theoretical possibility of water freezing at room temperature under high pressure. Participants explore the relationship between pressure, temperature, and the states of water, considering both the physical principles involved and the implications of such a phenomenon.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that since lowering pressure can cause water to boil at room temperature, raising pressure might theoretically allow water to freeze at room temperature, questioning if such a pressure exists.
  • Another participant posits that the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas) are determined by molecular density, implying that under significant pressure, water molecules could be packed tightly enough to form a solid.
  • A participant clarifies that the initial statement about pressure and phase changes is misleading, emphasizing that lowering pressure decreases the boiling point but does not vaporize the liquid without additional heat.
  • There is a reference to a phase diagram of water, suggesting that the relationship between pressure and phase changes is complex and warrants further exploration.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the effects of pressure on the phase changes of water, with no consensus reached on whether water can freeze at room temperature under high pressure.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the relationship between pressure and molecular density, and there are unresolved questions about the specific conditions required for phase changes in water.

pzona
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I imagine everyone here is familiar with the classic demonstration of making water boil at room temperature using a vacuum pump. Since lowering pressure changes the state from liquid to gas, can raising the temperature cause it to freeze? I know some about the difference in amounts of pressure it takes to undergo the change from liquid to gas and from liquid to solid, but is this even theoretically possible? Obviously it's not going to happen in a high school lab, but I was just wondering if there is a pressure at which water will freeze at room temperature.
 
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I'm not that knowledge on chemistry, but since I believe a liquid, solid, and gas are determined by how dense their molecules are, that under significant pressure that molecules would be packed so tightly in order to call it a solid.
 
pzona said:
Since lowering pressure changes the state from liquid to gas, can raising the temperature cause it to freeze?

I assume you mean pressure here. Yes, http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/images/phase.gif" .
 
Last edited by a moderator:
pzona said:
lowering pressure changes the state from liquid to gas

That's not exactly true. Lowering pressure you lower boiling point temperature - but it is not enough to vaporize the liquid. For that you still need to add enough heat to the system (enthalpy of vaporization). Boiling in the experiment you have described is possible thanks to water lowering its temperature, and soon stops in the lack of external heating.
 

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