Decompression of Bismuth (IMAGE)

Carnegie Institution for Science

Decompression of Bismuth

Caption

When a crystal structure of bismuth (right) is decompressed from 32,000 atmospheres (3.2 GPa) to 12,000 atmospheres (1.2 GPa) it melts into a liquid at about 23,000 atmospheres (2.3 GPa) (middle). It then recrystallizes at 12,000 atmospheres (left). The so-called metastable liquid produced by this decompression occurs in a pressure-temperature range similar to where the supercooled bismuth is produced. Supercooled liquids are cooled below the freezing point without turning into a solid or a crystal.

Credit

Chuanlong Lin and Guoyin Shen, Carnegie Institution

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