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What is sublimation?

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Quick answer

Sublimation is when a solid turns straight into a gas without becoming a liquid first. Dry ice 'smoking' and snow vanishing on a freezing, sunny day are everyday examples of this direct solid-to-vapor change. A substance skips the liquid phase, going solid → gas directly.

Key things to understand

  1. A substance skips the liquid phase, going solid → gas directly.
  2. It happens when surface molecules gain enough energy to escape as vapor.
  3. Dry ice (frozen CO₂) sublimes at normal pressure, making fog.
  4. Whether it occurs depends on temperature and pressure.
  5. The reverse — gas straight to solid — is called deposition (e.g. frost).

People also ask

What is an example of sublimation?
Dry ice turning to fog, mothballs shrinking into vapor, and snow disappearing without melting on a cold, sunny, windy day.
Why does dry ice sublime?
At normal air pressure, solid carbon dioxide can't exist as a liquid, so it goes straight to gas as it warms.
What's the opposite of sublimation?
Deposition — a gas turning directly into a solid, like water vapor forming frost on a cold window.